Beyond the bedside, Roswell Park nurses have many opportunities to further academic goals and conduct evidence-based research that can improve and change cancer care.
Nursing student interns
The nurse student internship is a full-time paid internship for nursing students in their final semester before senior year of nursing school. As a nursing student intern, you work 1-1 directly under the supervision of a registered nurse (usually following one nurses schedule). During the summer (May to mid-August), interns work approximately 37.5 hour per week, and during the academic year, interns work a minimum of one shift per month. After successful completion of the internship, the student nurse continues to work on a unit of their choice until graduation. Roswell Park's places nearly 100% of its participant as full-time nurses.
For information, please email Jessica Schultz, BSN, RN, Nursing Staff Development Instructor at Jessica.Schultz@RoswellPark.org
Roswell Park nurses create tool to identify patients who would benefit from palliative care.
Nurse Residency Program
The Nurse Residency Program (NRP) is a comprehensive training for new graduate oncology nurses as they transition during their first year of professional practice using standards from the Practice Transition Accreditation Program (PTAP). Roswell Park’s Nurse Residency Program is Western New York’s only Accredited Practice Transition Program with Distinction by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
The program is conducted in partnership with Vizient/AACN, Inc. which publishes the guidelines, curriculum, and collects/aggregates data regarding the participants.
When you get on the job, that’s when you really learn. I had amazing preceptors here who took the time to teach me how to do things and why. Even after my first orientation, I was able to go to my preceptor and ask her a lot of questions. She took the time to explain things. It’s the same with the educators – they have a nurse residency program which is a year-long for newer nurses. That helps to make you feel a lot more prepared on the job.Lateya Jackson, BSN, RN
Marie E. Bogner Center for Nursing Excellence
The Marie Bogner Center for Nursing Excellence, opened in January 2023, includes classrooms, simulation labs for inpatient and ambulatory skills teaching and a lounge area for respite and general nurse well-being.
High-fidelity simulation (HFS) has dramatically transformed pre-licensure nursing education over the last decade. The use of HFS in nursing professional development improves recognition of clinical deterioration and can consequently improve clinical judgment, skills and knowledge. The simulation area houses an exact replica of a Roswell Park inpatient room, complete with standard Roswell Park equipment and the HFS mannequin. It can simulate such things as medication administration, dressing changes or emergency changes in patient condition.
The HFS has been used for escape room activities for new nurse residents, classes that teach hypersensitivity reactions, proning for the critical care patients, moderate sedation skills, mock code scenarios, chemotherapy spills, as well as for orientation of new nurses and patient care technicians and presentations to community student groups interested in healthcare.
Nurse Manager Transition to Practice Program
A Nurse Manager Transition to Practice Program curriculum was created based on the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) competencies. New nurse managers complete a didactic orientation program and are matched with a nurse manager mentor. Through regular ongoing meetings, the mentor supports the mentee to achieve their goals.
The Nurse Manager Transition to Practice Program curriculum was created by Heather Huizinga, MSN, RN, OCN, Director of Nursing Professional Development, Practice and Research, with the input provided by Brianna O’Heir, BSN, RN, Magnet Champion, based on American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL) competencies.
In March 2023, these new nurse leaders participated in the first pilot Nurse Manager Transition to Practice Program:
- Jacqueline Henry, BSN, RN, Clinical Nurse Manager, Lymphoma and Multiple Myeloma
- Mary Ellen, Lenz, AAS, RN, Nurse II, Assessment & Treatment Center
- Paula Brumagin, BA, Ambulatory Care Administrator, Melanoma/Sarcoma
- Jessica Walker, BSN, RN, CMSRN, Assistant Clinical Nurse Manager, 7 West
- Sean Smith, BSN, RN, MBA, Assistant Director, Clinical Integration & Patient & Caregiver Education
- Melissa Hiscock, BSN, RB, OCN, WOCN, CPPS, Nursing Staff Development Instructor, Wound & Ostomy Care Manager
Current research/IRB Studies
Nursing research looks at overall patient health, restoration, rehabilitation, meeting patient and family needs in multiple environments. Example projects from 2023 include:
- Moral Distress in Nurses Providing Direct Patient Care on Inpatient Oncology Units and Outpatient Clinics.
- Examining the Relationship Between Falls and Sepsis in the Oncology Patient: A Retrospective Chart Review.
- Feasibility Study for ivWatch in Prevention of Extravasation of Vesicants in an Oncology Setting.
- Temperature Measurement and Comparison Study of Four Different Methods.
This program is the first of its kind established by an Institutional Clinical Scientist Awards (K12) grant from the National Cancer Institute and will support two to three PhD nurses per year, offering two years of highly personalized, advanced research training in oncology.
Presentations and conferences
- 2023 Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses
- “Therapeutic Apheresis: What, Why, and How.”
- 2023 Vizient American Association of Critical Care Nurses Nurse Residency Program Conference
- “Leveraging the Art of Nursing to Increase Resiliency.”
- “It’s TIME to Decrease HAPIs.”
- 48th Annual Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Congress
- “Standardized Transplant and Cellular Therapy Patient Education Upon Admission.”
- “The Effects of Proactive Critical-Care Nurse Rounding with High-Risk Patients in a Dedicated Cancer Hospital.”
- “Creation of a Nurse-Driven Palliative Oncology Screening Tool.”
Magnet Conference
In 2023, 17 nurses from Roswell Park attended the ANCC Magnet Conference in Chicago. The nurses from Roswell Park were from all areas and specialties including Survivorship and Palliative Care, 7 East, 7 West, 6 West, ICU, Resource Pool, Leukemia and Lymphoma Clinics, Head and Neck Clinic, Nursing Quality and Nursing Professional Development.
The conference sessions ranged from How to Effectively Use a Unit-Based Council to Improving Quality Outcomes to Resilience. All staff members who attended completed a project to implement in their unit or throughout the organization. A few of the exciting topics this year are: Implementation of an End-of-Life committee, Decreasing CLABSIs in the ICU, Mobility Program for Critical Care and Fine Tuning the APP Mentorship Program.
Last year, we implemented two projects successfully. Delaney Finewood, 7 West, implemented an anonymous exit interview process to learn more about why nurses leave Roswell Park. It has been utilized by many nurses already and the data is being analyzed to help build interventions in the Retention and Recruitment Committee. Brianna O’Heir, 7 West, brought back a new nurse manager leadership class for retaining nurse managers. This class has trained two cohorts since its inception!