Annual Report 2023
Department of Nursing
Asuko Sekimoto, Ayako Mori, Hiroko Nakahama, Aya Oya, Mihoko Asanabe, Tomomi Mochizuki, Yuka Okamura, Yumiko Arai, Chiaki Ito, Ikue Okuda, Akemi Komiyama, Yuko Sugiki, Mieko Machida, Kiyomi Suzuki, Kumi Yoshimura, Sachiko Karube, Naoko Inamura, Yuka Morohashi, Nozomi Asai, Miyuki Kanemitsu, Kyoko Suzuki, Yurika Hyuga, Kazumi Ishii, Emi Fujii , Michiko Oki, Atsuko Ito , Chiemi Kojima, Yuko Hirose, Naoko Haji, Naoko Okada
Introduction
The Department of Nursing is in charge of team healthcare at the National Cancer Center Hospital (NCCH), the central institution for national cancer treatment and control in Japan. With the motto, “All Activities for Cancer Patients”, our department's role is to develop and improve the quality of cancer nursing as well as to contribute to the appropriate management of the hospital. Our department is also expected to foster nursing staff to achieve the best cancer nursing possible.
The Team and What We Do
Since April 2023, the number of surgeries, chemotherapy, and clinical trials increased from the previous year as a result of our efforts to create a safe environment, improve operations, and train personnel without stopping cancer treatment while concurrently working with COVID-19.
The number of PRRT therapies started in 2022 ranked first in Japan, and we have established practices to respond to sudden changes in special environments and disseminated them throughout the country.
In order to respond to the diverse needs of cancer patients, the Postoperative Pain Management Team and the Eating and Swallowing Support Team initiated activities in collaboration with multiple professions, and the “About Me” form, which asks patients about their intentions regarding treatment and care, including at the end of life, was distributed at the initial visit and during the course of treatment to promote ACP.
Research Activities
The number of abstracts presented at conferences in FY2023 was 44. The contents were diverse, including support for reproductive functions of AYA patients, decision-making support for the elderly, and oncology nursing practice for patients with new coronavirus infection, as well as research on nursing management and medical safety, which are unique to a hospital specializing in oncology.
There were 24 journal submissions and publications by authors.
Human resource development and education
In FY2023, the hospital has onboarded a radiation nurse specialist, a certified cancer chemotherapy nurse, a certified infection control nurse, a certified surgical nurse, a certified dementia nurse, and two certified nursing managers. The hospital has 20 specialized nurses in 5 fields and 47 certified nurses in 12 fields, who act as educators and leaders in practice (Table 1).
Additionally, career support was provided for one student to enter the Master of Science in Nursing program and four students to enter the Certified Nursing program (Table 2).
Table 1. Number of registered certified nurse specialists and certified nurses
Table 2. Support status of human resource development
Future Prospects
In order to fulfill its role as a hospital specializing in acute cancer care, it is necessary to secure and develop human resources with a primary focus on promoting team medicine and enhancing medical and community collaboration. We would like to establish a system that can respond to and support the various needs of patients and their families and promote prospective research, which will lead to the establishment of evidence for cancer nursing. As a center where patients with pediatric cancer, rare cancers, and rare fractions associated with the promotion of genomic medicine gather from all over the country, we will establish a flexible nursing department structure in terms of education system, staffing, and work review.