Nurse Education and Survivorship: Building the Specialty Through Training and Program Development

Background: As the number of cancer survivors in the United States continues to grow, the need to educate healthcare providers in the components of survivorship care remains a challenge in the current healthcare system. Survivors have unique concerns and follow-up requirements that are key to minimizing their risks for recurrence and supporting quality of life.

Objectives: This article describes the impact of the curriculum, faculty, and teaching methods for an educational program to prepare nurses to provide cancer survivorship care.

Methods: Mixed methods with quantitative and qualitative approaches were used.

Findings: Course content and faculty received high scores in the evaluations. Analysis of the most common goals implemented by participants after the course focused on providing professional education, planning the process for survivorship care, and implementing treatment summaries and survivorship care plans.