Certified Breast Care Nurse (CBCN) Certification
The Certified Breast Care Nurse (CBCN) examination is aimed at testing the knowledge necessary for the nurse to practice competently in breast care. This certification is a validation of an individual's knowledge of breast care. Candidates who pass the CBCN Test may use the certification mark "CBCN" to verify that they have met all eligibility and testing requirements.

The Pennsylvania Cancer Control Consortium (PAC3)
New patient card to improve and facilitate face-to-face doctor/patient communication related to pain management issues.

Cultural Competence in Cancer Care: A Health Care Professional's Passport
the ICC recently revised their pocket guide promoting cultural competence in communications with cancer patients entitled Cultural Competence in Cancer Care: A Health Care Professional's Passport to include a chapter on Appalachians: Rural Americans. Here is a link to further information on the Passport: http://iccnetwork.org/pocketguide/index.html

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Rosalina Norita is establishing a Breast Cancer Support Care Center in Bali and is in need of a mobile mammography unit for their travelling clinic. If you have any information that may help her, please feel free to contact her directly by email. Information about BIWA (Balinese International Woman's Association) and the Balinese Breast Cancer Clinic are here, along with Rosalina's contact information. They are doing wonderful work to treat and detect the second most prevalent cancer in Indonesia.

Welcome Our Newest Members: 

We look forward to your participation

     

Cathleen Ackerman                Snyder, NY                                                   

Joanne Ballerini                Danbury, CT                                          

Emily Beard                     Decatur, GA                                           

Marcia Beckwith              Indianapolis, IN                                      

Cathey Bervid                  Tahoe Vista, CA                                     

Kathleen Bryte                 Pittsburgh, PA                                        

Jason Castro                     Thornton, CO                                         

Kathleen Chapman           Chesterfield, MI                                           

Seong-Hee Cheon             Lubbock, TX                                          

Diane Dietrich                  Riverside, CA                                               

Regina Dutton                  Florence, SC                                            

Catherine Finlayson         New York, NY                                        

Jiji George                        New Hyde Park, NY                              

Chi Glass                          Asheville, NC                                         

Georgette Graf                 Hadlyme, CT                                          

Julie Gray                         Lincoln, RI                                              

Patricia Haessly               Newport, OH                                        

Tracey Hall                      Bloomfield Hills, MI                              

Shannon Harrington         Virginia Beach, VA                                 

Kathy Hauck                    Columbus, OH                                        

 Deborah Heffernan           Evans, GA                                                    

Sue Heidbreder                 Reading, MA                                          

Jennifer Herrera-Perdi      Miami Springs, FL                                  

Traci Hill                          Vincennes, IN                                         

Joan Horst                        Naperville, IL                                                                                          

Eileen Javurek                  Ladoga, IN                                              

Janine Johnson                 Seattle, WA                                                   

Ki Bok Lee                       Goyang                                                   

Robin Lewis                     Winston-Salem, NC                                

Karen Joy Lim                 Livonia, MI                                             

Ruth Loyer                       Durham, NC                                           

Kathy MacDonald           Greens Fork, IN                                      

Veronica Manary             Amherst, NY                                           

Pam Manuel                   O Fallon, MO                                         

Carmel Mccloskey           Novato, CA                                                  

Jennifer McKenna            Milton, MA                                            

Melissa Morrison            Las Vegas, NV                                              

Cynthia Mouzin              Vincennes, IN                                         

Wendy Neupert               Wausau, WI                                            

Justine O'Connor             Riverside, NJ                                          

Rosemary Oolman           Woodbury, MN                                      

Kathleen Porter                Vernon, CT                                             

Lisa Pruitt                        Winston Salem, NC                                

Raquel Rafter                   Saugus, CA                                             

Patricia Rand                    Wauconda, IL                                          

Sally Randall                    Sumerduck, VA                                       

Mary Rilat                       Dallas, TX                                              

Mary Rolf                        Maple City, MI                                      

Marsha Schmit                 Grand Blanc, MI                                    

Sharon Spinney                Vineyard Haven, MA                             

Lesa Stancill                     Dalton, GA                                             

Janice Tran                       Spring, TX                                              

Melissa Wilson                Pisgah Forest, NC                                   

Wendy Wittman               Whitehall, PA                                         

Susan Yun                        Clarkston, MI                                         

                                                                                             Total New Members:                  55
  

Breast Care Certification: We Are on Our Way!

Elaine Sein, RN, BCN, OCN^®
E_Sein@fccc.edu

January 29,2008 Certification Update:

We are well on our way to a nationally recognized certification for nurses specializing in the care of breast patients. I have been keeping our SIG members up to date on the progress the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation (ONCC) has been making towards this goal. Nursing experts in breast care and management have participated in an advisory board and task force for role deliniation by knowledge and tasks in preparation for this certification process.

The ONCC Board of directors has decided to move forward with certification by a multiple choice format. The next step in this process is to have item writers begin to develop test questions. A working group from a variety of practice backgrounds will meet in February to begin writing test items. Please continue to follow announcements from ONCC regarding the need for sample test takers to evaluate the questions themselves. This may occur at ONS Congress in May in Philadelphia, PA.

We have been fortunate to have a wonderful pool of breast experts involved in every aspect of this project as well as many more who have expressed interest in participating as we move forward. When the call comes for the next phase in the process. I encourage you to participate if possible. Meeting/networking and working with your collleggues is an extraordinary experience and one you will alway remember.

Stay tuned for the next update installment, Elaine Sein

Original Certification Note to SIG Members: It is official! Breast care certification is finally coming in 2009. Carlton G. Brown, PhD, APRN, AOCN^®, president of the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation (ONCC) Board of Directors, announced this wonderful news in July. For many members of the Breast Care SIG, this is welcome information and validation of all of the work that our Certification Work Group has been doing for the past few years.

The ONCC Board has selected a multiple-choice examination format for the certification process. Nurses with diverse practice backgrounds care for women with breast diseases and breast cancer, and as such, ONCC has determined the following eligibility criteria for the Certified Breast Care Nurse (CBCN).

• Current, active, unrestricted RN license at the time of application and examination
• Minimum of one year (12 months) of experience as an RN within the three years (36 months) prior to the application
• Minimum of 1,000 hours of breast care practice within the two and one-half years (30 months) prior to application
• Completion of a minimum of 10 contact hours of continuing education in breast care nursing within the three years (36 months) prior to application

Nurses who successfully complete the multiple-choice examination will be awarded the CBCN credential. CBCN certification will be valid for four years.

A blueprint for the examination will be available on ONCC's Web site in 2008. We will continue to update colleagues as the process moves forward. I have received several questions regarding how nurses will prepare for the examination. Once the blueprint is available, the resources for test preparation will be made available as well.

In our previous update, we acknowledged the members of the ONCC Advisory Board and Task Force that have worked on completion of this project. However, many other members of our Certification Work Group have been very supportive and willing to assist in a variety of ways to bring certification to fruition. I would like to acknowledge them here. Much work still needs to be done, and ONCC and ONS will be calling on these members as we continue to develop test questions and resource information for taking the test itself. Thanks to all for your continued support.

Susan Bowman Darcy Burbage Kathleen Calderon Alex Beth Campoli Caroline Cortes Amy Davis Diane Diettererle Bonnie Edsall Mary Ferree Eileen Fiedler Julie Grifife Oza Holmes Lori Kaneshige Dara Leichter Lisa Lilley Judy Lukaszewski

Jean Lynn Terri Martin Carole Martz Mary Murphy Marsha Oakley Alisa Penrod Jeanie Rosiak Mary Scheid Janice Schwartz Elaine Sein Linda Sesa Sandra Walters Linda Walton Debra Waugh Cindy Wise Wilma Zimmerm

Did you know that the Breast Care SIG provides a formal mentoring program for oncology nurse professionals? Joining is easy. To enroll, visit www.3creekmentoring.com/ONS to start the process. Select the mentoring program of interest as well as the following codes when creating a profile:

Mentee group code: 532398
Mentor group code: 361812

Mentoring relationships officially begin once a mentee contacts a prospective mentor (through the online program) and both parties agree to a mentoring arrangement. These relationships are ongoing with the majority of communication occurring by email and through the online program. However, mentors and mentees may also connect in-person or by telephone (at their own expense) as deemed appropriate and convenient for them.

Mentoring relationships can be either short or long in duration. However, participants should be willing to make a minimum commitment of two hours per month to the program. If at anytime an arrangement is not meeting the desired expectations, a mentor or mentee can be paired with another member participating in the program.

Please direct any questions to membership@ons.org.

The ONS annual elections are approaching on January 2, 2009!

IMPORTANT NOTE TO THOSE SIGs HOLDING ELECTIONS IN 2009
Beginning in 2009, SIG elections will be incorporated into the national ONS elections. Voting will take place electronically for everyone with a valid email address. Those without a valid email address will receive a paper ballot.

Please visit the ONS Elections Web Site to learn about the candidates for President-Elect, Treasurer, Board of Directors (2), and Nominating Committee.

Your vote DOES make a difference!... Why?

• It demonstrates your concern about ONS and the future of oncology nursing.
• It strengthens ONS's participation in national dialogues on health care policy.
• It recognizes the talents, hard work, and commitment of the candidates.
• It represents a very important person--a knowledgeable, compassionate oncology nurse!

Electronic Voting Tutorial
Voting electronically is easy! Learn how it's done, so you will be prepared on January 2nd.

Letters from Candidates to Chapters