Managing Chemotherapy Side Effects: Achieving Reliable and Equitable Outcomes.

Receiving information about treatment-related side effects is a high priority for patients receiving chemotherapy. Infusion nurses typically assume responsibility for teaching patients how to manage treatment-related side effects, but providing reliable and equitable information across visits and across different infusion centers can present a problem. Implementing a standardized, patient-centered, departure encounter checklist can help ensure that nurses consistently provide patients with targeted, timely, and regimen-specific information about treatment-related side effects.
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Minimizing Staff Exposure to Antineoplastic Agents During Intravesical Therapy.

Exposure to chemotherapy is a daily risk for nurses in oncology infusion centers. Although significant advances have been made in developing systems to make IV administration of antineoplastic agents safer, less attention has been given to developing systems to minimize exposure risk during instillation of intravesical chemotherapy. This article describes the use of a closed system developed at a comprehensive cancer center and compares it to two closed systems reported in the literature. At a Glance • Safe handling of biohazard medications is important for all healthcare workers involved in the administration of antineoplastic agents. • Nurses need to advocate for use of chemotherapy administration systems that minimize exposure to staff and patients. • Infrequently performed procedures need to be supported by clearly specified procedural steps that are readily accessible to the nurse.