Assessments in the initial nursing consultation-starting point for interprofessional cooperation in oncology

Background Most oncology patients are not adequately screened for symptoms during the admission process. As a result, their needs are not properly assessed and included in their treatment. Objective To investigate which assessments are already used by different nursing, medical, and social services at oncology centers and how these could be centralized in order to include the different services involved in the care of patients in a bundled way. Materials and methods For this purpose, interviews were conducted with nursing, medical, and social services of an oncology center. Hereby, a main focus was put on their individual screenings. Furthermore, the special features of the services for oncological patients were elaborated. Results and conclusion Symptom assessments are currently only performed if the nursing, medical, or social service concerned is actively involved in the care of the patient. This usually happens only once a problem arises. This could be counteracted by a needs and requirements analysis integrated into the admission process, in which the assessments are used in a bundled manner. In this way, a comprehensive picture of the individual could be created even before a problem arises. Based on the analysis by nursing experts, the various nursing, medical, and social services could then be involved in the care of the patient right at the start of treatment. This would significantly improve the quality of care for patients.