Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Recognizing the Need for Oncology Education in Canadian Baccalaureate Nursing Programs

  • Published:
Journal of Cancer Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

There is a critical need for quality oncology education in Canadian baccalaureate nursing programs considering the vast amount of cancer diagnoses and deaths in the Canadian population, as well as the likelihood that all nurses will care for oncology patients in various settings. The incidence and mortality of cancer within the Canadian population impact the need to incorporate an all-inclusive view of cancer care into baccalaureate nursing curriculums and develop nurse leaders in oncology at this level. Currently, Canadian nursing programs are generalist programs and provide little oncology content especially in the clinical setting. It is essential that baccalaureate nursing programs examine strategies to incorporate a comprehensive view of cancer care into programs to ensure that baccalaureate nursing students meet the entry to practice competencies to care for patients across the cancer care trajectory.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Canadian Cancer Statistics Advisory Committee (2018) Canadian cancer statistics 2018. Canadian Cancer Society, Toronto Retrieved from http://www.cancer.ca/~/media/cancer.ca/CW/cancer%20information/cancer%20101/Canadian%20cancer%20statistics/Canadian-Cancer-Statistics-2018-EN.pdf?la=en. Accessed 3 Aug 2018

  2. World Health Organization (2018) Cancer. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer. Accessed 3 Aug 2018

  3. Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology (2018) CANO nursing knowledge and competencies framework for cancer care. Retrieved from https://www.cano-acio.ca/page/practiceframework. Accessed 3 Aug 2018

  4. Lockhart JS, Oberleitner MG, Felice TL, Vioral A (2018) Using evidence to prepare non-oncology nurses for cancer survivor care. J Contin Educ Nurs 49(1):12–18. https://doi.org/10.3928/00220124-20180102-05

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Such Lockhart J, Galioto M, Oberleitner MG, Fulton JS, McMahon D, George K, … Mayer DK (2013) A national survey of oncology content in prelicensure registered nurse programs. J Nurs Educ, 52(7)383–390. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20130529-01

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology (2015) Roles in oncology nursing. Retrieved from https://www.cano-acio.ca/page/OncologyNursingRoles#Generalist. Accessed 3 Aug 2018

  7. Cheung W, Fishman P, Verma S (2009) Oncology education in Canadian undergraduate and postgraduate training programs. J Cancer Educ 24(4):284–290. https://doi.org/10.1080/08858190902973143

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Canadian Nurses Association (2014) Optimizing the role of nurses in primary care in Canada. Retrieved from https://www.cna-aiic.ca/~/media/cna/page-content/pdf-en/optimizing-the-role-of-nurses-in-primary-care-in-canada.pdf?la=en. Accessed 3 Aug 2018

  9. Lippe M, Volker D, Jones T, Carter P (2017) Evaluating end-of-life care education within nursing programs: a method for targeted curriculum evaluation. J Hosp Palliat Nurs 19(3):266–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Esplen MJ, Wong J, Green E, Richards J, Li J (2018) Building a high quality oncology nursing workforce through lifelong learning: the de Souza model. Int J Nurs Educ Scholarsh, 15(1). http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.viu.ca/10.1515/ijnes-2016-0079. Accessed 3 Aug 2018

  11. College of Nurses of Ontario (2014) Entry to practice competencies for registered nurses. Retrieved from https://www.cno.org/globalassets/docs/reg/41037_entrytopracitic_final.pdf. Accessed 3 Aug 2018

  12. Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (2018) Competency guidelines. Retrieved from https://www.casn.ca/competency-guidelines/. Accessed 3 Aug 2018

  13. College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia (2015) Competencies in the context of entry level registered nurse practice in British Columbia. Retrieved from https://crnbc.ca/Registration/Lists/RegistrationResources/375CompetenciesEntrylevelRN.pdf. Accessed 3 Aug 2018

  14. Flynn J, Frederick C (2015) Fellowship program to develop the next generation of oncology nurses. Clin J Oncol Nurs 19(6):773–775. https://doi.org/10.1188/15.CJON.773-775

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Mitchell C, Laing CM (2019) Revision of an undergraduate nursing oncology course using the Taylor Curriculum Review Process. Can Oncol Nurs J 29(1):47–51. https://doi.org/10.5737/236880762914751

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. University of Calgary (2019) Term 7. Retrieved from https://nursing.ucalgary.ca/undergraduate/curriculum/term-7. Accessed 3 Aug 2018

  17. Dalhousie University (2019) Dalhousie School of Nursing certificate options for BScN program. Retrieved from https://cdn.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/healthprofessions/School%20of%20Nursing/UG_docs/BScN_Certificate_Options_Brochure.pdf. Accessed 3 Aug 2018

  18. Edwards D, Anstey S, Kelly D, Hopkinson J (2016) An innovation in curriculum content and delivery of cancer education within undergraduate nurse training in the UK. What impact does this have on the knowledge, attitudes and confidence in delivering cancer care? Eur J Oncol Nurs 21:8–16. https://doi.org/10.1097/CNJ.0000000000000338

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Kapucu S, Bulut H (2018) Nursing students’ perspectives on assisting cancer patients. Asia Pac J Oncol Nurs 5(1):99–106. https://doi.org/10.4103/apjon.apjon_44_17

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Powell TL, Cooke J, Brakke A (2019) Altered nursing student perspectives: impact of a pre-clinical observation experience at an outpatient oncology setting. Can Oncol Nurs J 29(1):34–39. https://doi.org/10.5737/2368807629133439

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Lin M, Hsu W, Huang M, Su Y, Crawford P, Tang C (2017) “I couldn’t even talk to the patient”: barriers to communicating with cancer patients as perceived by nursing students. Eur J Cancer Care 26(4):e12648-n/a. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecc.12648

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Zannettino L, Thompson J, Marker J, Agius S (2016) Raising the awareness of undergraduate nurses to the psychosocial impact of living with cancer: a consumer engagement in teaching initiative. Asia Pac J Oncol Nurs 3(2):121–124. https://doi.org/10.4103/2347-5625.177393

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  23. Dietmann M (2017) Nursing faculty beliefs and teaching practices for the care of the cancer survivor in BSN curricula. J Cancer Educ 32(4):764–770. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-016-1074-6

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vancouver Island University, 900 Fifth St, Nanaimo, BC, V9R 5S5, Canada

    Cindy Davidson

Authors
  1. Cindy Davidson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cindy Davidson.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Davidson, C. Recognizing the Need for Oncology Education in Canadian Baccalaureate Nursing Programs. J Canc Educ 35, 441–446 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-019-01620-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-019-01620-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation