Supporting Advanced Practice Fellowship During COVID-19.

With the aging population and increasing number of cancer survivors contributing to a projected provider shortage, one solution is the specialization of nurse practitioners and physician assistants (part of the advanced practice provider [APP] workforce) in oncology. However, a lack of preparation in caring for the patient with cancer has led to burnout and stress in these groups. The authors studied an APP fellowship program to describe resilience, stress, and compassion in a transition-to-practice program and explore the experience of intentional, facilitated conversations. During 2019 and 2020, 18 APP fellows at a large, academic comprehensive cancer center participated in this descriptive study. The fellowship started in-person but changed to a virtual setting due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Resilience was measured through the Connor Davidson Resilience Scale 10, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Professional Quality of Life Scale at four points in time: baseline, 6 months, 12 months, and 18 months. The experience of intentional, facilitated conversations was captured through simple theme collection as part of a standard program evaluation. Resilience, perceived stress, and compassion showed no statistical significance over the course of the fellowship. Evaluations of an intentional, facilitated conversation program found focal areas that included challenges, fatigue, empathy, relationships, role, self-awareness, and self-care. Despite the challenges of the pandemic on the health-care provider, the retention rate of APPs remained steady during the fellowship. The findings from this study suggested there was a benefit in an oncology fellowship for advanced practice and that intentional, facilitated conversations provide reflection and support during this experience.

Where the infection is isolated rather than the specific species correlates with adherence strength, whereas biofilm density remains static in clinically isolated Candida and arthroconidial yeasts.

To colonize and infect the host, arthroconidial yeasts must avoid being killed by the host's defenses. The formation of biofilms on implanted devices allows fungi to avoid host responses and to disseminate into the host. To better study the mechanisms of infection by arthroconidial yeasts, adherence and biofilm formation were assayed using patient samples collected over 10 years. In clinical samples, adherence varies within species, but the relative adherence is constant for those samples isolated from the same infection site. Herein we document, for the first time, in-vitro biofilm formation by Trichosporon dohaense, T. ovoides, T. japonicum, T. coremiiforme, Cutaneotrichosporon mucoides, Cutaneotrichosporon cutaneum, Galactomyces candidus, and Magnusiomyces capitatus on clinically relevant catheter material. Analysis of biofilm biomass assays indicated that biofilm mass changes less than 2-fold, regardless of the species. Our results support the hypothesis that most pathogenic fungi can form biofilms, and that biofilm formation is a source of systemic infections.

Complete Genome Sequences of Cluster G Mycobacteriophage Darionha, Cluster A Mycobacteriophage Salz, and Cluster J Mycobacteriophage ThreeRngTarjay.

Mycobacteriophages Darionha, Salz, and ThreeRngTarjay are mycobacteriophages isolated using the host Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155. Following isolation from soil samples, all three siphoviridae phages were characterized, and their genomes were sequenced and annotated.

Oral agents for cancer: safety challenges and recommendations.

BACKGROUND: The lack of knowledge and standardization of safety practices related to prescribing, dispensing, administering, and monitoring oral agents for cancer (OACs) has created significant safety challenges for patients and healthcare providers. Problems identified with the use of OACs include possible medication errors, increased potential for toxicity, unintentional exposure of hazardous medications to healthcare providers and informal caregivers, and possible pollution of the environment. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this review is to provide information about the current state of knowledge and recommendations in the literature regarding safety concerns with OACs and strategies for risk reduction. METHODS: Articles published from 2003-2014 were retrieved using PubMed, CINAHL®, and the Cochrane Library. FINDINGS: As the number of OACs continues to increase, existing standards related to medication errors and safety will require ongoing revision to lessen the risks and hazards for patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers.

A national survey of oncology content in prelicensure registered nurse programs.

The current and projected increase in newly diagnosed cancer patients and survivors supports the nation's need to prepare a nursing workforce that is skilled to meet the health care needs of these individuals. It is likely that cancer patients, especially survivors, will receive care from nurses without specialized oncology education who work in various nononcology clinical settings. Because of the lacking practice standards and educational guidelines for nurses who care for cancer survivors in nononcology settings, this article describes findings of a national survey that identified the importance and depth of cancer-care content included in accredited prelicensure registered nurse programs (diploma, associate and baccalaureate degrees). Findings revealed that a gap exists between respondents' reported importance and depth of cancer-care content currently taught and that importance rated consistently higher than depth taught. Lack of time was the most frequently cited barrier. Results will be used to design generalist oncology resources for nurse educators.