The University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing has received a $144,469 grant from the Western Cancer Foundation to support innovative educational opportunities to prepare nurses and nursing students to meet the specific needs of oncology patients.
The project, called the Providing Oncology Workforce Education and Resources for Nursing (POWER) initiative, will strengthen oncology education in the nursing field in four ways. It will fund a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Oncology Nursing; it will support the development of an oncology elective in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program at the University of Texas Health Science Center; and it will fund two students as Oncology Nurse Scholars and two students as Oncology Research Nurse Scholars.
The Oncology Scholars Program is a one-year program open to traditional BSN students and will be taken during the final year of the BSN degree program. Students in the Oncology Scholars Program will have the opportunity to obtain paid clinical or research opportunities at various oncology facilities in the Mid-South. They will also complete oncology courses to gain more knowledge in the field and agree to work at an oncology facility after graduation, said Wendy Likes, PhD, DNSC, APRN-BC, FAAN, FAANP, dean of the College of Nursing.
“We are excited to offer this opportunity to our students and to work with community partners like Cancer Foundation West to meet the needs of our healthcare partners in the South Central region,” said Dr. Likes. “We greatly value our community partners and continually seek ways to meet their needs through our educational programs.”
The mission of the Western Cancer Foundation is to break down barriers to cancer care and improve patient outcomes by providing accessible patient resources, early detection and education, and research to improve health inequities. This grant to the University of Texas Health Science Center is the latest in a series of 17 grants to the university from the Western Cancer Foundation totaling nearly $2.2 million.
“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with UT Health Sciences Center and this latest grant will greatly improve educational and research opportunities in oncology nursing in our community,” said Leighanne Soden, president of the Western Cancer Foundation. “Oncology nursing is a very special specialty and increasing the number of resources available to oncology nurses in training is a priority for the Western Cancer Foundation as we continue to break down barriers to cancer care.”
The BSN Oncology elective and two Oncology Scholars programs are planned to be effective in 2025. The Bernie Crook Distinguished Visiting Professor Lecture in Oncology Nursing will be held at 5:30 pm on February 3, 2025 at the FedEx Event Center. The free event will offer continuing education units, and a registration link will be available soon at cenow.uthsc.edu.