Nursing trends in oncology/nursing pharmacist?

[Lapaul]

Opinions needed for Nurses in oncology

It seems there is an expectation that Nurses should mix chemotheraputic drugs.

What education should be required for this responsibility besides PPE devices and MDS sheets?

Oncology certifications due not explain the ratios, mixing of drugs and how are these nurses

keep updated in the pharmacology mixing updates.

Also what monitoring of individuals are in place for long term, on the job exposure to these chemicals. I read a recent article by CDC that did a study on surfaces contaminated with chemo agents in a room using a hoodover a 72 hour period and It scared the hell out of me. Radiation nurses wear a badge for exposures so what about chemical contaminates on the job?

Nursing is not pharmacy.

Please offer your opinions

[HyperSaurus, RN, BSN]

OUr facility has pharmacy mix chemo and prime lines or fill syringes. I think at the chemo office, the nurses currently mix their own chemo (I don't know what training they undergo for that), but they are switching to pharmacy-mixing.

[s0ad]

At our facility chemo is mixed by the pharmacy. They deliver to the floor and a chemo nurse verifies it. The chemo nurse does the calculations, as does another nurse and the pharmacist to ensure the proper dose is being given.

Nurses used to do the mixing a long time ago, but thats stopped. One nurse said a long time ago at her facility, one nurse would do all the chemo mixing for the day.

I think its more appropriate for pharmacy to mix it, and it works for us.

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

Pharmacy always mixed our chemo drugs. We'd never have it another way. It's time consuming, would require additional education, and let's face it--there just isn't enough time in the day to do all the nursing tasks AND make the chemo.

[Palliative Care, DNP]

Pharmacy is the only folks mixing chemo at my facility.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

Opinions needed for Nurses in oncology

It seems there is an expectation that Nurses should mix chemotheraputic drugs.

What education should be required for this responsibility besides PPE devices and MDS sheets?

Oncology certifications due not explain the ratios, mixing of drugs and how are these nurses

keep updated in the pharmacology mixing updates.

Also what monitoring of individuals are in place for long term, on the job exposure to these chemicals. I read a recent article by CDC that did a study on surfaces contaminated with chemo agents in a room using a hoodover a 72 hour period and It scared the hell out of me. Radiation nurses wear a badge for exposures so what about chemical contaminates on the job?

Nursing is not pharmacy.

Please offer your opinions

Where is there this expectation? I've given chemo in several different environments and it's always been mixed by the chemo pharmacist.

[SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN]

Also what monitoring of individuals are in place for long term, on the job exposure to these chemicals. I read a recent article by CDC that did a study on surfaces contaminated with chemo agents in a room using a hoodover a 72 hour period and It scared the hell out of me.

We had mandatory physicals yearly to include labs and an assessment with a physician. If we had odd symptoms, they did a full workup on us. If PPE is used properly, you shouldn't have any issues.

As for your article, please cite it for review. Considering nursing rarely mixes chemo agents anymore, contamination of a room where chemotherapy is mixed is more of a pharmacy issue than nursing.

[msjack]

Pharmacy only mixes our chemo as well. In both institutions I have worked at this is how it was.