Abstract
More children survive cancer today than ever before. Accordingly, there is an ever growing need for nurse specialists to care for these long term sur vivors (LTS) of childhood cancer.
In 1983, a Follow-up Clinic for LTS was estab lished at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Cancer Research Center. A nurse practitioner (NP) was hired to identify the eligible patients, inform them of the available service, and provide them with the specialized care that was necessary. Recently, the role of the NP has been greatly expanded and currently consists of three major components: clinician-caregiver, educator, and researcher.
As the clinician-caregiver, the NP must be knowledgeable about late effects of therapy, demonstrate clinical expertise, and have a broad background in human growth and development. As an educator he or she must provide information to the public (teachers and the general community), to the medical community, to parents, and to patients. As a researcher, the NP must collect and analyze data, plan future studies, and write grant proposals. The multi-faceted role of the NP working with long term survivors of childhood cancer will continue to expand in the future. It is important that nurse practitioners be attuned to the importance of follow-up care and realize that they play a critical role as coordinators of care for these children and their families. The entire text of this presentation can be found in the article by Wendy L. Hobbie entitled "The Role of the Pediatric Oncology Nurse Specialist in a Follow-up Clinic for Long-Term Survivors of Childhood Cancer", Journal of the Association of Pediatric Oncology Nurses, Vol. 3, No. 4, 1986.
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