Headline 1
Certification Description: An oncology nurse is an individual who works with blood-borne and solid cancer diagnoses in populations that require treatment and remission.
Details about certification:
- Process to obtain clinical certification: First, the nurse will be required to achieve a Bachelor of Science in nursing or an Associate’s Degree to become eligible for an Oncology Nursing position. There are additional learning courses that have to be finished to help the practitioner gain insight into different characteristics of the oncology specialization.
- Cost of application and testing: The cost of the exam is $286.
- Requirements prior to certification: New graduates have to engage in an internship program to become a part of an interdisciplinary team and work along with their mentors. As for experienced nurses, they have to accomplish similar training outcomes while aligning their practice against the needs of the facility.
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Details about certification:
- Examination description: The exam is three hours long, with the applicants required to answer 165 multiple-choice questions. Some of the questions will count and some (pre-test) will not. The examinee will not know which questions belong to the test or pre-test. There is also a computer tutorial prior to the exam and no scheduled breaks.
- Renewal time and process: The renewal process should take place every four years. As for the renewal options, nurses should have a valid RN license to access one of the three following choices: (a) practice hours and points (professional development), (b) successful testing and points, and (c) practice hours and successful testing.
- Required items for renewal: There are four essential items required for license renewal: (1) an active RN license, (2) at least 24 months of professional RN experience throughout the last 48 months of practice, (3) a minimum of ten contact hours of oncology education within the last 36 months, and (4) a minimum of 2,000 hours of oncology nursing practice prior to application.
Headline 3
Problem Statement: Knowledge deficit in oncology certification among the elderly populations that have to experience improved life expectancy.
- Explanation of Problem Statement
- Why was this certification selected? This certification was selected because the author expects to provide adequate care to a vulnerable population that has been recurrently underrepresented in both practice and research.
- Why are nurses not knowledgeable about the certification? It happens because oncology certification is an uncommon professional development path that many nurses overlook to pursue much more widespread careers.
Headline 4
In the article written by Mackey et al. (2018), the authors discuss the importance of oncology nurses and explain the rationale beyond promoting this specialization. This means that innovative care delivery models should be included in the agendas on high-quality care (Kunos et al., 2015). Mackey et al.’s (2018) scholarly article depicts the need for more skilled oncology nurses and outlines the potential future of this specialization.
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In terms of patient outcomes, this article is rather descriptive, as it touches upon the transformation of populations affected by oncology-based issues. The process of certification, in accordance with Mackey et al. (2018), should focus on the imperative areas of care due to the fact that the fullest extent might only be achieved in the case where all oncology nurses receive proper education as well. As for the leadership in the field, it may be safe to say that knowledge received throughout the certification program would be later used by nurses to promote positive outcomes and significant changes applied to the healthcare system.
Headline 7 and Headline 8
The conclusion should include a brief overview of:
- Clinical Certification: The oncology nurse certification relates to the treatment and remission of patients with solid and blood-borne cancer diagnoses.
- Problem Description: The problem is that there is a limited number of nurses who pursue this career path.
- Scholarly Article Key Points: The idea that was prioritized by Mackey et al. (2018) was that it is imperative to attract more nurses to the oncology field.
- Scholarly Article Connection: This article is directly associated with patient outcomes, professional certification, and leadership because it explains the need for oncology specialization and describes the essential benefits of pursuing a career in the given field.
- Summary of What was Learned: It was identified that the population affected by oncology-related diseases grows, which may lead us to the conclusion that more oncology nurses have to be attracted and effectively retained to improve the current state of affairs.
References
Kunos, C. A., Olszewski, S., & Espinal, E. (2015). Impact of nurse navigation on timeliness of diagnostic medical services in patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer. The Journal of Community and Supportive Oncology, 13(6), 219-224.
Mackey, H., Noonan, K., Kennedy Sheldon, L., Singer, M., & Turner, T. (2018). Oncology nurse practitioner role: Recommendations from the Oncology Nursing Society’s Nurse Practitioner Summit. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 22(5), 516-522.