Assessment and resource utilization for cancer patients

Area of Science:

• Oncology Nursing
• Rehabilitation Counseling
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Effective care planning in oncology requires integrating rehabilitation services.
• Understanding the distinct roles of nurses and rehabilitation counselors in patient care is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of rehabilitation counselors (RCs) versus registered nurses (RNs) in addressing patient rehabilitation problems.
• To analyze how RCs and RNs utilize resources in outpatient oncology care planning.

Main Methods:

• A comparative study involving 70 oncology outpatients assessing their rehabilitation needs.
• Patients were followed by either an RN or an RC, with distinct roles in assessment and resource utilization.

Main Results:

• Rehabilitation counselors addressed a significantly higher proportion of patient problems compared to nurses (p < .0005).
• Nurses primarily utilized themselves as a resource (51%), while RCs leveraged nurses (14%) for problem resolution.

Conclusions:

• Delegating assessment and resource utilization functions solely to staff members can effectively integrate rehabilitation into outpatient oncology settings.
• Specialized roles for rehabilitation counselors may improve the comprehensiveness of care planning for cancer patients.