Role of the Advanced Practice Nurse in blood and marrow transplantation

The lecture will focus on the role of the Advanced Practice Nurse (Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Nurse Specialist), working in the field of blood and marrow transplantation at a comprehensive cancer center in the United States. Discussion will include components of the role, which are practitioner, educator, consultant, collaborator, and researcher. Identification of the differences in the inpatient and outpatient setting will be included. Advanced Practice Nurses (APN) contribution in examining issues related to quality of life and symptom management will be covered. Side effects of high-dose treatment, complications post-BMT, and acute graft vs. host disease will be included. Standards of care, established protocols and clinical guidelines will be shared to help identify scope of clinical practice for the APN. Multidisciplinary team approach will be stressed and a case study will exemplify this.