Implementation of an evidence-based education practice change for patients with cancer

As oncology care continues to move toward delivery in the outpatient setting, oncology nurses must find ways to effectively educate patients about diagnosis, treatment, and symptom management. A cancer diagnosis induces high levels of anxiety, often affecting a patient's ability to retain information about his or her disease, treatment, and symptom management. Based on results from the ONS Foundation-supported Breast Cancer Care Quality Measures Set and Breast Cancer Survivorship Quality Measures Set, a community-based, multisite cancer center located in the midwestern United States embarked on a quality project in patient education. The purpose of this article is to describe a quality project that evolved from a review of the patient education process for patients with cancer in three medical oncology clinics to a pilot of a new model for patient education. The pilot identified gaps, developed and implemented evidence-based improvement strategies, and planned for evaluation of process and patient outcomes of this practice change. A pilot study to assess processes and workflows associated with a one-hour separate patient education visit was designed and initiated. Patients and oncology nurses have expressed satisfaction with standardized patient education. Although processes and workflows continue to be evaluated, a proposal was developed, submitted, and accepted by the institutional review board to evaluate patient-centered outcomes.