Supportive management of the patient with pancreatic cancer: role of the oncology nurse.
The oncology nurse attends not only to the physiologic needs of the patient with pancreatic cancer but also to the educational, economic, logistic, and psychosocial factors that impact on quality of care. Managing patient care from admission through discharge in today's short hospitalization periods, the oncology nurse's vigilant attention to "patient care maps" helps keep the multidisciplinary healthcare team on schedule, contain costs, and maximize hospital resources. Patient and family education provided by the oncology nurse, along with take-home reference materials, facilitates adjustment to the cancer diagnosis, encourages patient compliance with treatment procedures and pain management, and can cut health-care costs by eliminating unnecessary post-discharge trips to the doctor's office or emergency room. Oncology nursing assists patients with pancreatic cancer along the continuum of care via whatever pathway is chosen.
Coleman
Joann
J
D019091:Critical Pathways; D005190:Family; D006801:Humans; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing*; D010351:Patient Discharge; D010353:Patient Education as Topic