The Oncology Nursing Podcast Oncology Nursing Society

“I think a virtual nurse can have the same sort of presence that a bedside nurse does. I like to think of a virtual nurse as pulling up a virtual chair next to that patient and spending time to ask questions and engage with them,” Laura Gartner, DNP, MS, RN, NEA-BC, associate chief nursing informatics officer for inpatient shared services and north region at Jefferson Health in the Philadelphia, PA, area told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about virtual nursing care.
Music Credit: “Fireflies and Stardust” by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 
Earn 0.5 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at myoutcomes.ons.org by May 17, 2026. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of NCPD by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
Learning outcome: Learners will report an increase in knowledge related to virtual nursing.
Episode Notes 
Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  Oncology Nursing Podcast episodes: Episode 282: Telehealth-Based Oncology Palliative Care Episode 136: Nurse Innovators Use Telehealth to Improve Adult and Pediatric Symptom Reporting Episode 109: Is Telehealth the Future of Cancer Care? ONS Voice articles: How’s Your Video Telehealth ‘Webside Manner’? Innovative Solutions to Maximize Oncology Nurse Staffing During a Nursing Shortage Personalized Patient Education: Ensure Effective, Inclusive, and Equitable Patient Education With These Five Strategies Telehealth: The Future Is Now for Patient-Centered Care ONS book: Telephone Triage for Oncology Nurses (third edition) Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing articles: Nursing Telemedicine Educational Encounters: Improved Patient Satisfaction in Radiation Therapy Clinics Oncology Nurse Navigation: Expansion of the Navigator Role Through Telehealth Telehealth Use in Rural North Carolina Counties: Perceptions Among Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia Telemedicine Versus Clinic Visit: A Pilot Study of Patient Satisfaction and Recall of Diet and Exercise Recommendations From Survivorship Care Plans Oncology Nursing Forum articles: A Telemedicine-Delivered Nursing Intervention for Cancer-Related Distress in Rural Survivors Breast Cancer Survivors' Satisfaction and Information Recall of Telehealth Survivorship Care Plan Appointments During the COVID-19 Pandemic Rural Cancer Survivors' Perceptions of a Nurse-Led Telehealth Intervention to Manage Cancer-Related Distress Telenursing Interventions for Patients With Cancer Receiving Chemotherapy: A Scoping Review ONS Clinical Practice Resource: Racial Disparities in Cancer Care: Telehealth and Clinical Trial Options Jefferson Health press release: Jefferson Health Launches Virtual Nurse Program To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.
To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast Club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library.
To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org.
Highlights From This Episode
“I think that the virtual nurse plays a really important role in nurse staffing shortages. With this shortage, we need to get creative and think outside the box so that we can facilitate nurse wellness, work-life balance, and satisfaction and make our hospitals the place that nurses want to work. I firmly believe that nothing can replace the physical touch, but there are so many things a nurse does every day that can be done by somebody remotely that can reduce the workload of that bedside nurse.” TS 3:28
“About eight nurses between these two floors have volunteered to take on this role as a virtual

“Chemotherapy exposure during the first trimester is contraindicated and increases the risk of spontaneous abortion, fetal death, and major congenital malformations. Second- and third-trimester exposure may affect some body systems still developing and can still result in fetal growth restriction, low birth weight, and preterm labor. Yet, I do want to stress that pregnancy can remain a possibility,” Kelsey Miller, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BC, OCN®, clinical nurse specialist in oncology and infusion therapy at Reading Hospital in West Reading, PA, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about policies and procedures for pregnancy testing during cancer treatment.
Music Credit: “Fireflies and Stardust” by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 
Earn 0.25 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at myoutcomes.ons.org by May 10, 2026. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of NCPD by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
Learning outcome: Learners will report an increase in knowledge related to pregnancy screening procedures during cancer treatment.
Episode Notes 
Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  Oncology Nursing Podcast episodes: Episode 217: Support Pregnant and Postpartum Patients During Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Episode 208: How to Have Fertility Preservation Conversations With Your Patients ONS Voice article: The Case of the Pregnancy Predicament ONS book: Oncology Nurse Navigation: Delivering Patient-Centered Care Across the Continuum (second edition) Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing articles: Pregnancy and Cancer Treatment: Developing a Standardized Testing Policy and Procedure Unintended Pregnancy: A Systematic Review of Contraception Use and Counseling in Women With Cancer ONS Huddle Cards Fertility Preservation Sexuality ONS Congress® abstract: System Approach to Fertility Preservation and Pregnancy Status During Active Cancer Treatment (by Kelsey Miller and Ainsley Hartman) ECHO program (Enriching Communication Skills for Health Professionals in Oncofertility) Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network article: Pregnancy Screening in Patients With Cancer National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines: Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Oncology To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.
To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast Club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library.
To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org.
Highlights From This Episode
“It’s really crucial to identify [pregnancy] prior to treatment, as this should be considered a patient safety ‘never’ event. We know that exposure to chemotherapy or radiation can cause mutagenic changes in reproductive cells and teratogenic effects in a developing fetus. Women of childbearing potential should have a documented pregnancy test prior to beginning cancer treatment due to the adverse effects of chemotherapy and radiation on a developing fetus.” TS 1:42
“We had a fertility risk checklist that was based off American Society of Clinical Oncology standards, that was not fully operationalized nor built into physician workflows. The checklist was a way of documenting that risks of infertility, fertility preservation, and contraception was discussed, as well as an attestation that referral to a reproductive endocrinologist was made if needed. I had a physician partner at the time who said the only way to get the providers to fill out this checklist is to make it a hard stop, so that’s what we did. The fertility risk chec

Episode 310: Pharmacology 101: Androgen Receptor Inhibitors and Antiandrogens
“The things that I think creep up are things that unfortunately are quite common, and that’s hot flashes. I’ve had patients say that those are just overwhelming, and they want to go off therapy because of it. So I think talking about pharmacologic management, as well as lifestyle management, of hot flashes, are equally as important,” Rowena “Moe” Schwartz, PharmD, BCOP, FHOPA, professor of pharmacy practice at James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about androgen receptor inhibitor and antiandrogen drug classes.
Music Credit: “Fireflies and Stardust” by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 
Earn 0.5 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at myoutcomes.ons.org by May 3, 2026. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of NCPD by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
Learning outcome: Learners will report an increase in knowledge related to androgen receptor inhibitors and antiandrogens.
Episode Notes 
Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  Oncology Nursing Podcast episodes: Pharmacology 101 series Episode 242: Oncology Pharmacology 2023: Today’s Treatments and Tomorrow’s Breakthroughs Episode 194: Sex Is a Component of Patient-Centered Care Episode 113: Manage Cancer-Related Hot Flashes With ONS Guidelines™ ONS Voice articles: Oncology Drug Reference Sheet: Darolutamide Oncology Drug Reference Sheet: Relugolix Genetic Disorder Reference Sheet: HOXB13 Sexual Considerations for Patients With Cancer Nursing Considerations for Prostate Cancer Survivorship Care Exercise Before ADT Treatment Reduces Rate of Side Effects ONS books: Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy Guidelines and Recommendations for Practice (second edition) Clinical Guide to Antineoplastic Therapy: A Chemotherapy Handbook (fourth edition) Oncology Nursing Forum articles: An Exploratory Study of Cognitive Function and Central Adiposity in Men Receiving Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Prostate Cancer Management of Androgen Deprivation Therapy–Associated Hot Flashes in Men With Prostate Cancer Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing articles: Hot Flashes: Clinical Summary of the ONS Guidelines™ for Cancer Treatment-Related Hot Flashes in Women With Breast Cancer and Men With Prostate Cancer Hot Flashes: Common Side Effect Genitourinary Distress: Common Side Effect ONS Guidelines™ and Symptom Interventions Fatigue Hot Flashes Oral Anticancer Medication ONS Huddle Cards: Altered Body Image Hormone Therapy Sexuality ONS Cancer of the Genitourinary Tract Learning Library Cancer Research article: Studies on Prostatic Cancer. I. The Effect of Castration, of Estrogen and of Androgen Injection on Serum Phosphatases in Metastatic Carcinoma of the Prostate To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.
To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast Club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library.
To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org.
Highlights From This Episode
“The androgen deprivation therapy is either orchiectomy, which we tend not to use as much anymore; LHRH agonists, meaning that they act like LHRH…and then now LHRH antagonists are taking an increased role because we now have an oral drug that is an LHRH antagonist.” TS 3:44
“When you give an LHRH agonist, you initially have an increase in testosterone, but over time you cause a decrease in the ability of th

“It was really the ability to be able to connect with many individuals from my profession. Reflecting on what initially drew me to ONS Congress, I can’t help but reminisce about my first time attending in 2002. I was going down memory lane the other day and found some pictures from my first time attending. As I reflected, I could not help but feel immensely grateful for the support and education I received as a novice nurse during that time from attending Congress,” Jessica MacIntyre, DNP, MBA, APRN, AOCNP®, 2024–2026 ONS president, told Lenise Taylor, MN, RN, AOCNS®, BMTCN®, oncology clinical specialist at ONS, during a conversation about ONS Congress. Taylor spoke with several 2024 ONS Congress attendees, asking the question “What brought you to ONS Congress?” Listen to their stories and learn how the conference has affected their careers in this special episode.
Music Credit: “Fireflies and Stardust” by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 
Episode Notes 
Information on submitting an abstract to ONS Congress Oncology Nursing Foundation ONS Congress Scholarships Oncology Nursing Podcast episodes: Episode 258: ONS Through the Ages: Stories From the Early Days With Cindi Cantril and George Hill Episode 160: Build Innovative Staff Education Tools and Resources Episode 191: Explore Orientation Opportunities for New-to-Practice Nurses ONS Voice articles: Our Unified Voices Can Improve Cancer Survivorship Care Personalized Patient Education: Ensure Effective, Inclusive, and Equitable Patient Education With These Five Strategies ONS Congress presentations from episode guests The Nurse as an Effective Educator: Facilitating Patient-Centered Learning (Beau Amaya) Powerful Outcomes From Nurse and Patient Policy Advocacy (Gilanie De Castro) Back to Basics: Utilizing Huddles to Emphasize Standard Care and Maintenance of Central Venous Catheters in an Effort to Reduce CLABSI (Erin Hillmon) Enhancing Triage Precision: Nurse Navigation's Impact on a Lymphedema Program (Jessica MacIntyre) Implementing a Graduate Nurse Residency Program (Leah Scaramuzzo) To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.
To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast Club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library.
To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org.
Highlights From This Episode
“What I want to accomplish is really to contribute significantly to an organization that has contributed so greatly to me. And until you go to Congress, you don’t fully realize the ripple effect that ONS has on the field of oncology nursing. They really are a cornerstone to our profession. So when I volunteer with ONS, I feel like I’m serving the oncology nursing community as a whole, and I’m so grateful to get to do that on a national level.” (Stacey Clements, BSN, RN) TS 3:35
“What is bringing me to Congress is to talk about patient education, health literacy, ways that we can improve the patient experience and help them understanding. And I think this is such an important topic because it’s what we do at the core of nursing. We really teach patients and their caregivers how to take care of themselves. And sometimes we forget that it’s not just a checklist to get the education done. It’s really learning what the patient needs, what they need to think about—some consideration about what may be affecting the way that they’re retaining information. Then hopefully I can give some tools and have some discussion with many different nurses across the U.S.” (Beau Amaya, MS, RN, OCN®) TS 5:04
“Why I am so excited to attend Congress is that it really gives us an opportunity to work together with our colleagues, learn what each other is doing, and kind of leverage our collective wisdom. So this way we work smarter instead of harder.” (Leah Scaramuzzo, MSN

“One of the things that I know Dr. [Tom] Connor worked on very heavily in his career is the long-term impact on the health of nurses and other exposed healthcare workers. We definitely need more longitudinal studies, which are difficult to do. And it’s not something that you see every day where I talk to chemo nurses and said, ‘Hey, I’ve been in this 20 years. It hasn't bothered me at all.’ Well, until it does. Therefore, it’s so important when we’re training incoming nurses—how very important it is to start with these practices early in the career and throughout the career,” Charlotte A. Smith, RPh, MS, senior regulatory advisor at Waste Management PharmEcology Services in Milwaukee, WI, told Lenise Taylor, MN, RN, AOCNS®, BMTCN®, oncology clinical specialist at ONS, during a conversation about hazardous drug and waste disposal.
Music Credit: “Fireflies and Stardust” by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 
Earn 0.5 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at myoutcomes.ons.org by April 19, 2026. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of NCPD by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
Learning outcome: Learners will report an increase in knowledge related to hazardous drugs and hazardous waste.
Episode Notes 
Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  Oncology Nursing Podcast episodes: Episode 209: Updates in Chemo PPE and Safe Handling Episode 142: The How-To of Home Infusions ONS Voice articles: Two Oncology Nurses Implement Process to Allow Patients to Disconnect Pumps From the Comfort of Their Own Homes The Oncology Nurse’s Role in Oral Anticancer Therapies Strategies to Promote Safe Medication Administration Practices ONS Safe Handling of Hazardous Drugs Learning Library ONS position statement: Infusion of Antineoplastic Therapies in the Home ONS book: Safe Handling of Hazardous Drugs (fourth edition) ONS course: Safe Handling Basics Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing articles: Environmental Risk Factors: The Role of Oncology Nurses in Assessing and Reducing the Risk for Exposure Oral Chemotherapy: A Home Safety Educational Framework for Healthcare Providers, Patients, and Caregivers Oral Chemotherapy: An Evidence-Based Practice Change for Safe Handling of Patient Waste Reconciliation and Disposal of Oral Medication: Creating a Safe Process for Clinical Research Personnel Pharmacy Practice News article: Applying NIOSH Hazardous Drug Assessment of Risk Principles To Home Healthcare (by Charlotte Smith and Tom Connor) Books mentioned in this episode: Silent Spring by Rachel Carson Our Stolen Future by Theo Colborn, Diane Dumanoski, and John Peterson Myers Generations at Risk by Ted Schettler, Gina Solomon, Maria Valenti, and Annette Huddle Drug Enforcement Agency: National Prescription Drug Takeback Day Environmental Protection Agency: Final Rule: Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals and Amendment to the P075 Listing for Nicotine MD Anderson Cancer Center: Chemotherapy at Home: 9 Things to Know (patient resource) Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: Safe Handling of Chemotherapy and Biotherapy at Home (patient resource) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health: Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare Settings Managing Hazardous Drug Exposures: Information for Healthcare Settings NIOSH List of Antineoplastic and Other Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare Settings, 2016 To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.
To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast Club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library.
To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@on

“When we’re talking about the role of nurses in addressing these challenges, they play a critical role because of when they actually get to see patients. And so, if we can help with early identification and assessment, really finding out, using financial screening tools to identify any patients that might be at risk, early on, of financial toxicity, that can really allow for timely interventions,” Sarah Paul, LCSW, OSW-C, senior director of social work at CancerCare in New York, NY, told Lenise Taylor, MN, RN, AOCNS®, BMTCN®, oncology clinical specialist at ONS, during a conversation about financial toxicity in adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors.
Music Credit: “Fireflies and Stardust” by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 
Earn 0.75 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at myoutcomes.ons.org by April 12, 2026. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of NCPD by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
Learning outcome: Learners will report an increase in knowledge related to financial toxicity in the adolescent and young adult population.
Episode Notes 
Complete this evaluation for free NCPD. Oncology Nursing Podcast episodes: Episode 300: AYAs With Cancer: End-of-Life Care Planning Episode 294: AYAs With Cancer: Clinical Trial Enrollment Barriers and Facilitators Episode 287: Tools, Techniques, and Real-World Examples for Difficult Conversations in Cancer Care Episode 276: Support Young Families During a Parent’s Cancer Journey Episode 62: Financial Toxicity Legislation ONS Voice articles: AYA Cancer Survivorship: Younger Survivors Face Different Challenges and Prefer More Casual Support Programs Nursing Considerations for Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivorship Care How to Support Adolescents and Young Adults With Cancer at the End of Life LGB AYA Patients With Cancer Have High Burden of Chronic Conditions in Survivorship AYA Champions Clinic Fills Gaps in Care and Addresses Unmet Needs ONS book: Oncology Nurse Navigation: Delivering Patient-Centered Care Across the Continuum (second edition) Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing articles: Two Case Reports on Financial Toxicity and Healthcare Transitions in Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors Crucial Conversations: Addressing Informational Needs of Adolescents and Young Adults Diagnosed With Cancer A Nurse-Pharmacist Collaborative Approach to Reducing Financial Toxicity in Cancer Care Oncology Nursing Forum article: A Brief Screening Tool for Assessment of Financial Toxicity ONS Financial Toxicity Huddle Card ONS Nurse Navigation Learning Library Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Awareness Week American Society of Clinical Oncology CancerCare Got Transition National Comprehensive Cancer Network Patient Advocate Foundation Triage Cancer To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.
To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast Club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library.
To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org.
Highlights From This Episode
“For nurses that are caring for AYA patients, it’s really important to not only be aware of financial toxicity but know how to assess for financial toxicity because of the pivotal stage that these patients are at in their life. They often don’t have the financial stability or insurance coverage that adults who are maybe middle age or even in the older adult population might have.” TS 2:11
“The idea of [AYAs] not really understanding insurance coverage—I think it’s really important that as a team, we simplify some of this complex information, b