S Director at Large—Communications C ommuniqué

S
eason’s Greetings and warm wishes
for a joyous 2015! As another year
comes to an end, it allows time for
reflection on this past year. And what a
busy year it has been!
It was great to see so many members
attend the CANO/ACIO annual conference in Quebec City this year. The conference was a huge success and I would
like to take this opportunity to thank the
local planning committee and fellow
Board members for all their efforts in
the coordination of this event. The conference theme was, Patient Engagement,
and I was impressed at the calibre of
presentations and speakers.
Like many in the audience, I was
inspired by the opening ceremony presentation by Hugo Desrochers. Hugo
eloquently described personal experiences of his cancer diagnosis and
treatment. People who have the most
expertise to guide us with planning and
delivery of services in cancer care are
our patients and family members. With
smatterings of humour, Hugo shared
his experiences with diagnosis and
treatment and also about how he now
supports other cancer patients and families. In recognition of the importance
of patient engagement, our strategic
plan comprises a component related to
this topic and looks to identify how we,
as an organization, might best engage
patients and families in association
activities and initiatives.
In 2015 we celebrate a milestone for
the association—our 30th anniversary.
Our marketing committee is busy making preparations on the marketing plan
REFERENCES
Cancer Care Ontario. (2014, May). Symptom
Assessment and Management Tools.
Retrieved from https://www.cancercare.
on.ca/toolbox/symptools
for this milestone and we will be seeking ideas and suggestions from members for this anniversary. Personally, I
have also reached the celebration of my
30th year in oncology nursing. Reflecting
back on my career, I have many fond
memories and have witnessed many
changes in patient care and nursing
practice. Most certainly, I am pleased to
see the increase in patient survival rates
and the fact that we now view cancer as
a chronic disease rather than a life-ending illness with few options. Now we are
faced with the challenge of how to best
support patients and families with survivorship issues.
At the conference, I was excited to
see the launch of the conference app. I
found it extremely useful, and informal
feedback from colleagues was positive.
We all seem to benefit from working
with mobile technology in our lives and
our working environment. I recently
read an article highlighting the use of
SMART phones in clinical care, which
discussed the use of mobile technology
to promote patient safety and quality
of care (Parker, 2014). The author also
highlighted that nursing was not fully
utilizing mobile technology. I come
from an era in nursing when we had
very little technology—no cell phones,
no computers, and counting the drops
per minute to monitor the flow of IV
fluids was the norm. I have observed
many changes over the years and, from
a first-hand perspective, have seen how
far technology has advanced oncology,
patient care, and nursing practice for
our patients. A good example of this
is the symptom management guides
app, which I only recently discovered
(Cancer Care Ontario, 2014). How far
we have come in these 30 years!
Today,
as
Director-at-Large—
Communications, I have many tools
and resources available to me to carry
out my duties with more ease than my
predecessor had 30 years ago. Most
likely, communication to association
membership was by mail or by telephone—costly and labour intensive!!
Since SMART phones were introduced
nearly 15 years ago, a communication
explosion has occurred. We tweet; we
access a never-ending supply of apps;
we take selfies and friendies and post
these on a variety of social networks;
we text; we email; and we share our
thoughts and opinions in a matter of
minutes to the World Wide Web. We
have a plethora of excellent communication modes to promote and raise awareness of our association and oncology
nursing practice, all of which makes my
role so much easier. As an example of
this, CANO/ACIO will be holding next
year’s annual conference in Toronto in
October. Generate interest and raise
awareness by including the hashtag
#CANO2015 in all your social media
messaging.
I am looking forward to 2015 and all
the challenges that it will bring!
Submitted by
Lorna Roe, MSc, BSc, RN
CANO/ACIO DAL Communications
Parker, C.D. (2014). Evolution or revolution?
Smartphone use in nursing practice.
American Nurse Today, 9(11). Retrieved
from
http://info.patientsafesolutions.
c o m / e v o l u t i o n - o r- r e v o l u t i o n smartphone-use-in-nursing-practice
Canadian Oncology Nursing Journal • Volume 25, Issue 1, Winter 2015
Revue canadienne de soins infirmiers en oncologie
127
Communiqué
Director at Large—Communications