Chemotherapy Nurses are a Resource for Staff
From left, Colm Gormley, Robin Macneil and Soheir Elebiary.
The Department of Nursing this year created a new role to meet the needs of patients and staff on non-oncology inpatient units and other areas. In this role, Colm Gormley, BSN, RN, Soheir Elebiary, MS, RN, and Robin Macneil, BSN, RN, go to the patients on non-oncology units to administer chemotherapy.
“Most patients we see have cancer but need other services like surgery, thoracic care or intensive care, so they are not on Oncology floors,” said Elebiary, who has been an Oncology nurse at BWH since 1994.
Elebiary, Gormley and Macneil care for non-cancer patients whose care plans require chemotherapy or Rituxan. “We’re a resource for the Tower,” said Gormley, who previously was a nurse on Tower 5B. “If our nursing colleagues have any questions related to cancer or chemo, they can call us anytime.”
This support ensures that no nurse feels alone in his or her practice. Gormley, Elebiary and Macneil work hand in hand with the patient’s bedside nurse, teaching them about the effects of chemotherapy as they administer it.
“Patients and nurses feel secure that someone who specializes in chemotherapy and its administration is there and comes back for follow-up ,” Elebiary said. “For example, if a patient stops eating because of mouth sores caused by the chemo, the nurse can let us know, and we can recommend how to help.”
Cathy Rumble, MS, RN, interim nurse manager of the MICU, said the unit has found the chemotherapy resource nurses a valuable support. “These nurses are easily accessible to us and extremely knowledgeable,” she said.
The MICU is unique in that about 20 percent of nurses are competent in administering the five most common chemotherapy agents. However, other patients need additional chemotherapeutic agents that nurses do not administer.
“When that happens, we call the chemotherapy resource nurse, and they collaborate with us,” Rumble said. “Our staff do not hesitate to call them—they really fit right in as part of the team.”
The chemotherapy resource nurses are available from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week.