AN ONGOING educational initiative, the Study to Measure Advanced Practitioner Retention of Targeted Information and Education (SMARTIE), measures oncology learning and how it is used with advanced practitioners and their patients with cancer. The initiative, conducted by Harborside Medical Education (a division of Harborside of Huntington, New York, a medical media information and education company and publisher of The ASCO Post) was recognized with a “best-in-class” award at a recent conference of the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions (ACEhp) Industry Summit. Recognition by ACEhp follows the launch of SMARTIE during the Journal of the Advanced Practitioner in Oncology (JADPRO) Live conference in 2017, a 4-day annual symposium geared to the specific scientific needs of the advanced practitioner in oncology.
As part of the SMARTIE initiative, pre- and posttest questions along with a follow-up survey (at 5 to 6 months after the conference) were sent to a predetermined cohort of nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and oncology pharmacists who attended JADPRO Live in 2017. Results of the survey demonstrated that these advanced practitioners were putting what they learned during the educational conference directly into practice.
Putting Knowledge Into Practice
FOR JUST ONE of the many sessions offered at JADPRO Live, a subset of 115 individuals among 1,237 conference attendees who “opted in” to participate in SMARTIE responded to a survey about the potential side effects that occur with immunotherapy. The data revealed that 95% of survey respondents educated patients about these potential side effects as a direct result of what they learned at JADPRO Live. Among the additional findings was evidence that, after being exposed to related education at the JADPRO Live conference, attendees put specific newly acquired patient education strategies into place, such as reinforcing to patients that they should report their symptoms early or expanding patient education in local clinics.
Pamela Hallquist Viale, RN, MS, CNS, ANP
As new cancer therapies become available, it is important that health-care providers are well prepared to educate their patients about the benefits, risks, and potential side effects of these treatments. “The education that we present at JADPRO Live is crucial to helping these practitioners stay one step ahead of these rapid changes in treatment,” said Pamela Hallquist Viale, RN, MS, CNS, ANP, President of the Advanced Practitioner Society in Hematology and Oncology (APSHO). Ms. Viale noted that selected data from the 2017 survey will be presented during the International Cancer Education Conference in Atlanta, October 2–5, 2018, as well as the ACEhp Annual Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, in January 2019.
JADPRO Live 2018
NOW ENTERING its sixth year, the JADPRO Live conference is expected to attract more than 1,500 nurse practitioners, advanced practitioners, and pharmacists to the 2018 conference this fall. JADPRO Live 2018 will be held in Hollywood, Florida, at the Diplomat Hotel, November 1–4, 2018. It will feature a keynote address by palliative care leader Charles von Gunten, MD, PhD. Learn more at www.jadprolive.com. ■
