International Affairs
ONS is pleased to be involved in education and outreach around the world, both to nurses and to interdisciplinary audiences. As we move into 2013, we are pursuing the opportunity in a more proactive way to engage the global oncology nursing community through the delivery of education and training, both electronically and live. This work can best be accomplished with local, regional, and global partners, who could include other associations and not for profit organizations, governmental agencies, NGOs, foundations and industry.
With sustainability and capacity-building at the forefront of our mission internationally, ONS remains focused on consistency and stewardship of resources. Priority topics for nursing education include chemotherapy and safe handling of cytotoxic drugs, clinical trials, pain control, palliative care, disease-specific education, evidence-based practice, and leadership development.
Presenters for international programs are selected from among a candidate pool of ONS members. These candidates are targeted primarily on their SIG involvement, primary positions, functional areas, international area of interest, and occasionally language spoken other than English, as well as other qualifications. If you are interested in an international teaching opportunity with ONS, please be sure that all demographic areas of your ONS profile are current, and that you have completed the “Professional and Leadership Expertise Profile” portion of your profile. If you have any questions, please email international@ons.org.
2013 International Initiatives
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Palliative Care Programs for Healthcare Providers in the Middle East
- (February, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman). ONS collaborated with the Middle East Cancer Consortium (MECC), the Oman Cancer Association (OCA), ASCO, NIH and other organizations to offer a series of palliative care programs for nurses and other healthcare providers from the Middle East.
- The Advanced Course in Palliative Care for Nurses discussed advanced concepts in palliative care to nurses in positions to influence the provision of palliative care in their institutions and countries. The interactive program equipped each participant to complete an implementation plan outlining a change they would make in their institution or community.
- The one-day Workshop on Community Based Cancer Research reached an interdisciplinary audience and addressed basic concepts in community based clinical research. The attendees were tasked with making recommendations about how a study to collect information about palliative care services could be conducted in the Middle East.
- The four-day International Palliative Care for the Geriatric Cancer Patient Conference was attended by 215 nurses, physicians, social workers and pharmacists. The conference explored the current status of palliative care in the Middle East as well as factors that influence the quality of palliative care available.
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International Oncology Nursing Meeting
– (16-18 April, Vina del Mar, Chile). ONS will present a pre-conference symposium on oncology nursing leadership through evidence-based practice, as well as conference sessions on the role of the advanced practice nurse, personal protection and safe handling of cytotoxic drugs, evidence-based practice, and fatigue. The conference is organized through the Cancer Foundation Chile and is part of the fourth biennial Simposio Latinoamericano de Gastroenterologia Oncologica (SLAGO) conference.
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Multidisciplinary Cancer Management Course
- (26-28 July, La Paz, Bolivia)- ONS will partner with ASCO and Oncovida to train clinicians in low- and middle-income countries in evidence-based, multidisciplinary cancer management. The three day, train-the-trainer program will focus on lung and colorectal cancers, and have a parallel nursing session on chemotherapy administration and safe handling of cytotoxic drugs.
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International Clinical Trials Workshop (ICTW)
- (7-8 November, Santiago, Chile)- ONS will partner with the ASCO, Chielan Cooperative Group for Oncologic research (GOCCHI), and the Federación de Sociedades Latinoamericanas de Cáncerología (FLASCA), to develop the research skills of clinicians and their supportive research staff (nurses, data managers, CRAs, etc.) in emerging economy countries who have prior research experience but limited research training. The two-day workshop is aimed at educating members of research teams on best practices of clinical trial implementation and joining globally accepted standards in the conduct of clinical research with a local perspective.