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health enhancement, including cancer, obesity and stress as well
as general health assessments. “[It’s] a mutual learning opportunity
that benefits everybody involved. It amplifies knowledge
generation, and brings people together for the cause of health,”
Cagle said.
Members of the planning committee encourage the community,
faculty and students to take advantage of next year’s conference as
an opportunity to gain knowledge and promote wellness.
Cowtown Oncology Symposium
Harris College hosted the second annual Cowtown Oncology
Symposium, coordinated by the Center for Oncology Education and
Research, this spring with nearly 100 health care professionals in
attendance. The symposium is an opportunity for oncology nurses
and other health care providers to enhance cancer patient care
skills, learn new methods of care and gain insight into the field’s
current trends.
The symposium’s primary goal is the diffusion of innovative care
methods among health care professionals involved in the care of
oncology patients. Designed primarily to educate oncology nurses
on essential strategies in cancer patient care, the symposium
provides educational tools to help them better serve patients
and caregivers.
Two nationally-recognized speakers provided lectures on pain
management and multiple myeloma. Susan Pendergrass MSN,
M.Ed., FNP, BC spoke on pain management for oncology patients.
She practices as an independent family nurse practitioner and
pain consultant for various health care organizations and the
pharmaceutical industry throughout the United States. Christine F.
Rimkus RN, MSN, AOCN from the Siteman Comprehensive Cancer
Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital andWashington University School
of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo., presented best practices in caring for
multiple myeloma patients and families.
Other key topics covered in the symposium’s lectures included
obesity and nutrition as related to cancer, and head and
neck cancers.
The symposium ended with a presentation from Sherree Bennett,
a nurse and a cancer survivor, providing her unique perspective on
the significant role the oncology nurse plays in the cancer patient’s
journey. Her presentation, “Role of the Oncology Nurse: A Survivor’s
Perspective,” was moving and enlightening.
Bennett said fear and the recognition
that you are fighting the battle alone
can both be overwhelming to the
patient. She discussed an experience
with infusion therapy when a nurse
walked into the room, grabbed the
injection, lifted her shirt to expose her
belly, rubbed her with alcohol, jammed
the needle in, yanked it out and left the
room – without ever speaking a word or
making any eye contact. Bennett even
spoke to the nurse, who didn’t respond.
On the other hand, she clearly remembers the nurses who touched
her heart; the nurses who hugged her; the nurse who made an
exception and allowed her son to sit in her lap at her first chemo
treatment so that he was assured that she was going to be okay.
Nurses make an impression. She urged them to make their
impressions good ones for their patients.
The symposium was sponsored by Moncrief Cancer Institute/UT
Southwestern Medical Center, Texas Health Resources and Texas
Oncology. The third annual Cowtown Oncology Symposium is
scheduled for April 13, 2013. Visit http://www.harriscollege.tcu.
edu/ for more details.
Planning committee for Cowtown Oncology Symposium
Students enjoy the Academic Achievement Banquet
Homecoming 2012
Saturday, Oct. 20
TCU vs. Texas Tech
Nursing Alumni Meeting
Social Work Alumni Meeting
More info: http://www.harriscollege.tcu.edu
News
The Harris College Magazine
- Summer 2012 ·
23