Education Paper and Poster Abstracts

Hematology/Oncology Staff Development Through Web-Based Technology

Ann Coleman-Brown, MPA, RN; Texas Childrens’ Cancer Center, Houston, TX

The purpose of this inquiry is to evaluate the effectiveness of an interactive Web-based module for in service and/or orientation that will provide introductory basic information regarding hematology oncology nursing to new employees hired at a major cancer center. A written self-study packet will be redesigned for use as an interactive Web- based instructional module that combines the concept of self study with the added components of interactivity and visual stimuli to enhance the learning for the employee. The module will be accessible to the nursing staff through an existing local internal Intra- net.

The available pool of experienced nurses caring for children with cancer is diminishing for many reasons: career mobility, an aging workforce, increased demand due to the growth in the number of inpatient beds and clinic size of pediatric cancer centers, increas- ing patient acuity, burnout, inadequate sala- ries, and so on. Due to the lack of experi- enced nurses, pediatric cancer centers must adapt and hire new graduates and/or nurses new to oncology. Nurses new to pediatric oncology require additional support on many levels from clinical to educational. Clinical experience is often gained through on the job training during the accomplishment of daily tasks. Traditional staff development in ser- vices regarding cancer and various treat- ment modalities has not proven to be effec- tive because brief in services or continuing education classes offered by a content spe- cialist, and/or self-study packets have limita- tions. Many employees are unable to leave their respective assignments to attend formal classes, especially with the current staffing shortages encountered in an acute care set-

ting. This factor alone has led to inefficiency and lack of efficacy on the part of an institu- tion’s education department in offering the same content at various times throughout the work week. Often, there aren’t enough new employees at one time to justify the costs of a stand alone class. Therefore, the use of a written independent study module has become the educational format of choice. The most frequent challenge encountered with this format is the lack of user friendly content/graphics to involve the reader and the lack of interaction and feedback with the material.

New nursing staff will be required to com- plete a pretest before accessing this informa- tion, which is followed by a posttest, to assess learning. A survey instrument will be developed to evaluate the learner’s percep- tion concerning the efficacy of this educa- tional format. Current nursing staff will be surveyed to evaluate the efficacy of this educational format compared with the writ- ten self study module used previously to become familiar with information pertaining to cancer. The outcome of this program is to determine if utilizing this format for nursing staff development can enhance learning infor- mation about cancer. An additional outcome is to determine whether this technology can improve nursing access to educational/ training material for future cancer-related educational applications.

Race for Remission: The Game of Cancer Facts. A Patient Education Tool for Pediatric Oncology Patients and their Families

Pamela K. Frankenfield BSN, RN, OCN, CPON; Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD

Pediatric oncology patients and their fami- lies are given tremendous amounts of infor- mation during the course of their treatment. Providing patient education in a stimulating, innovative manner is a challenge for nursing staff. One innovative approach is the use of

100 Journal ofpediatric Oncology Nursing, Voll6, No 2 (April), 1999: pp 100-l 03