EONS Newsletter March 2020

This month we are all experiencing increasing concern about the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). As cancer nurses, this is having a major impact on the healthcare environment, our patients, and on our own and our families’ lives. We will all be doing our best to carry on as normal as far as we possibly can. EONS made the difficult decision to cancel the meetings around ECND2020 planned for Lausanne in May, although our Europe-wide ECND social media campaign will go ahead as usual. The ESO-EONS Masterclass later this month has also, sadly, been cancelled. EONS will continue to work as hard as ever to support cancer nurses across Europe. There are lots of interesting things to read about and get involved in in this newsletter – not least, our EONS13 conference in September. Don’t forget to register!

During his inauguration at EONS12, EONS President Andreas Charalambous promised that in his first 100 days he would initiate discussions with EONS member societies in order to improve collaboration and find out more about the membership’s needs. Here are some of Andreas’ initial findings: 

“Although the societies are diverse in their character and needs, the main request by the majority of those I’ve spoken to, is for EONS to increase the capacity building initiatives in various areas that extend across the whole cancer trajectory and reach as many members as possible through an appropriate selection process. I can now inform you that a major initiative is being developed by EONS and will be announced later this year.

“The other main issue relates to the efforts by many EONS societies to establish the role of the cancer nurse specialist. EONS’ ambitious Recognising European Cancer Nursing (RECaN) project is already working for the recognition of cancer nursing across Europe and, in response to this request, we will explore ways that the member societies can benefit from each other’s experience. Furthermore, EONS will continue to organize key events in specific countries in order to give valuable support to our member societies such as those already held on European Cancer Nursing Day (ECND) in Estonia and the Czech Republic.

“My meetings will continue, with the ultimate goal of making EONS an organization that is highly responsive to the needs of its membership and one whose initiatives reflect the current and future challenges in healthcare.”

ECND2020 will be our third annual celebration of cancer nursing across Europe. 2020 is the WHO Year of the Nurse and Midwife so make sure you put 18 May in your calendar and get ready for a bumper social media campaign when we will let Europe and the whole world know about the fantastic specialised work that cancer nurses do.
 
The ECND 2020 theme focuses on the need to address inequalities in access to good quality healthcare. This year we will be awarding two outstanding cancer nurses for their work in a special ‘ECND Strengthening Equality in Healthcare Award’ - see below. Keep an eye on the EONS website for more details coming soon about how you can get involved in ECND2020.

**Special note: Due to the ongoing Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis we have made the difficult decision to cancel the ECND2020 events planned to take place in Lausanne in May. We deeply regret having to take this decision but we feel that in the current climate we all need to do our part in trying to limit the diffusion of the virus as much as possible.

European Cancer Nursing Day 2020 falls in the WHO designated Year of the Nurse and Midwife. One of the key tenets of the WHO is Universal Health Coverage (UHC): “UHC means that all individuals and communities receive the health services they need without suffering financial hardship. It includes the full spectrum of essential, quality health services, from health promotion to prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and palliative care.” In order to improve universal access to good healthcare services, healthcare workers need to be, and are, addressing means and methods to reduce health inequalities. 

Across Europe, a range of challenges that prevent access to good quality cancer care in many countries and regions within countries perpetuate inequalities. These include nursing shortages, a lack of specialist qualifications for cancer nurses, poor safety equipment or working conditions. Ensuring access to specialised cancer nursing care for patients in every European country would go a long way to reducing health inequalities by ensuring all patients benefit from approved standards of care. We know that many cancer nurses are also engaged in different projects that aim to improve equality of access to good healthcare, or are engaged in community outreach programmes relating to cancer prevention and healthy lifestyles for example.

This Year of the Nurse and Midwife, we would like to give two talented cancer nurses – who can be nominated by themselves, their co-workers, managers or friends – special awards at the EONS13 Congress in recognition for the work that they do to reduce health inequalities and increase access to universal health care. If you would like to nominate any nurses for these awards, please send an email explaining the work that they do and why they should be awarded the ECND Strengthening Equality in Healthcare Award 2020 to eons.communications@cancernurse.eu. Each winner will receive free travel, accommodation for three nights and registration to the EONS Congress in Madrid. Deadline for applications: 31 March 2020

We are delighted to be able to announce that we will again be joining ESMO2020 (18-22 September) in Madrid, Spain, for our conference – EONS13 (19-21 September). The theme of the EONS Cancer Nursing Track is: The Future of Cancer Nursing in the Year of the Nurse and Midwife.

The registration rate to attend is €459,80 (including VAT) – that gains you entry to all the ESMO sessions as well as the full EONS programme of speakers and events. It’s fantastic value! This year, for the first time, EONS will be offering a €84,70 registration fee (including VAT) for students and young cancer nurses under the age of 35! There will also be a limited bursary fund available for which EONS members from low- and middle-income countries will be able to apply. More information about these will be available soon!
REGISTER NOW!

When booking your trip you are advised to use the ESMO accommodation provider to avoid fraudulent accommodation companies. EONS can also provide a service to link up individual nurses who would like to look for shared, cheaper accommodation – contact eons.secretariat@cancernurse.eu. (However, please be aware you will remain responsible for making your own bookings.)

The call for abstract submissions for the EONS13 conference is open now!
The abstract categories are:
- Cancer Nursing: Digital innovations in health
- Cancer Nursing: Palliative and end-of-life care
- Cancer Nursing: Patient and occupational safety
- Cancer Nursing: Psychosocial care and survivorship
- Cancer Nursing: Symptom management
- Cancer Nursing: Translating research into practice
- Cancer nursing education: Challenges and opportunities
- Cancer nursing leadership

The deadline is 6 May, 2020.
Find out more and submit your abstract

For our young research nurse colleagues, please don’t forget about the Novice Research Dissemination Award This award is open to applications from nurses with no experience of presenting their research outside their own country and less than five years’ experience of research. One award is available. The award includes funding towards travel, accommodation and the registration fee. The winner will be asked to present their results briefly at the awards session at EONS13 in Madrid this September. During the abstract process you will need to indicate whether the abstract is submitted in association with an application for the EONS Novice Research Dissemination Award.

The deadline is 6 May, 2020.
Find out more and submit your abstract

We are very pleased to be able to offer access to two cancer nursing-run sessions at key ESMO events in 2020:

EONS President Andreas Charalambous and members Pascale Dielenseger and Manuela Eicher will present two sessions on cancer nursing at The European Lung Cancer Congress (ELCC) in Geneva, Switzerland from 15 to 18 April 2020. Andreas’ session will focus on Supportive Care in the Era of Novel Therapies for Thoracic Cancers. Pascale and Manuela’s session – Supportive and Nursing Care for Patients with Lung Cancer: Perspectives from the French-Speaking Community – will be presented in English, but there will be ample opportunity for questions and discussions in French and English. Both sessions will be held on Friday 19 April.
Register here with special rates for nurses

Nous sommes très heureux de pouvoir offrir l'accès à deux sessions de soins infirmiers en oncologie lors d'événements clés de l'ESMO en 2020. Le président de l'EONS, Andreas Charalambous, et les membres Pascale Dielenseger et Manuela Eicher présenteront deux sessions sur les soins infirmiers en oncologie lors du Congrès européen sur le cancer du poumon (ELCC) qui se tiendra à Genève, en Suisse, du 15 au 18 avril 2020. La session d'Andreas portera sur les soins de support à l'ère des nouvelles thérapies pour les cancers du poumon. La session de Pascale et Manuela - Soins de support et soins infirmiers pour les patients atteints d'un cancer du poumon: Perspectives de la communauté francophone - sera présentée en anglais, mais il y aura de nombreuses possibilités de questions et de discussions en français et en anglais. Les deux sessions auront lieu le vendredi 19 avril. 
Inscrivez-vous ici avec des tarifs préférentiels pour les infirmières

At the ESMO Breast Cancer Conference, in Berlin, Germany, from 7-9 May, Gabi Knötgen, EONS Board Member and Advocacy Working Group Member, has organised a fantastic session on Needs-oriented Specialized Nursing for Breast Cancer Care Nurses. With excellent speakers from Germany and Switzerland, the presentations will be made in English, but participants should feel free to ask questions or hold discussions in German. This event will be on 9 May. Register here with special rates for nurses

We are now offering another fellowship programme for cancer nurses in Europe with our partners at the European School of Oncology (ESO). The aim is to encourage the reduction of variability in outcomes of cancer care between countries, as well as within regions in each country, by giving cancer professionals the chance to experience working in multi-professional teams in accredited centres in Europe. The nurse will spend a period of time in a clinical setting specially designed to increase knowledge, improve professional development and to encourage mobility between countries.

+ Find out more and apply

Cancer nurses have a crucial role to play in optimising care for older adults with cancer and those close to them. However, training, resources and support is often lacking. SIOG, CANO and EONS are working together to develop an international joint position statement concerning the role of nurses in addressing age-related concerns in cancer care. We invite nurses involved in the care of older adults with cancer to join in this discussion. Please fill out this short survey: https://surveys.nursing.utoronto.ca/292999?lang=en

Find out more

Don’t miss the latest issue of EJON: The European Journal of Oncology Nursing is an international journal which publishes research of direct relevance to patient care, nurse education, management and policy development. As an EONS member you can read it free.

Read the journal

The call is now open for applications for the 2^nd EONS Eastern Europe and Balkan Masterclass in Oncology Nursing, in Belgrade from 3-5 September 2020. The Masterclass is specifically designed to meet the educational needs of cancer nurses from Eastern Europe and the Balkan region. Three intensive days of full immersion in up-to-date cancer nursing will create a collective spirit of teaching and learning to improving clinical skills and patient care. Deadline to apply is 5 May. 

+ Find out more and apply

One grant of 2500€ is available for the 2020 EONS Research Travel Grant. Both novice and established researchers will be considered. The grant funds one or two visits to the host institution (including travel at economy fare, accommodation and expenses). The focus of the grant is to build capacity and capability through a period of working closely with experienced clinical and/or academic researchers in another country. The deadline to apply is 29 May 2020.
Find out more

EONS is in the process of refreshing and modernising its website – www.cancernurse.eu The current site will undergo redevelopment over the coming few months. During this major design and build work, the site will not be updated with new information as often as usual, so please bear with us during this time as we put all our efforts into creating a wonderful new platform for all EONS members and the wider cancer nursing world.

It’s the time of year for our much-valued Society Members, Associate Members and Individual Members (with December 2019 expiry dates) to renew their membership. For this year, membership will run from January to December 2020. Members will be invited by email to renew their EONS membership. We look forward to your renewed membership and to continuing to work together for the future of cancer nursing.

For more information and to complete the specific application form, please go to www.cancernurse.eu/membership/index.html

Provided it still goes ahead, there is a strong possibility that EONS’ president and board members will be attending the WHO’s 73rd World Health Assembly.
More on this as it happens

Prevention is the foundation of public health policy and central to protecting and improving people’s health and well-being. EONS is one of a number of high profile cancer organisations that has signed a joint statement urging that a thorough prevention pillar be included in Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, with special attention to tackling challenges common to all non-communicable diseases; and for a process towards a wider EU strategic approach to the prevention of chronic diseases, including mental ill-health, to be initiated.
Find out more

The European Oncology Nursing Society (EONS) and the European Society of Oncology Pharmacists (ESOP) in collaboration with the European CanCer Organisation (ECCO) organised an event in the European Parliament entitled: ‘’Protecting Healthcare workers from hazardous drugs exposure – What can the EU do?’’ to address occupational safety for cancer nurses and pharmacists. The event was hosted by MEPs Radtke and Franssen, with the presence of representatives from the European Commission, stakeholders and academia. The European Commission has proposed to amend Directive 2004/37/EC on Directive 2004/37/EC - carcinogens or mutagens at work  by expanding its scope and by including and/or revising occupational exposure limit values for a number of cancer- or mutation-causing substances. The event ended with agreement that hard measures such as a Directive from the European Commission need to be considered which could be implemented in European member states to protect healthcare professionals from exposure to carcinogen and cytotoxic substances – and also the need to support research when it comes to the use of Closed System Drug-Transfer Devices (CSTDs). As part of the EONS strategy, we are conducting a Survey on Patient and Occupational Safety to collect more information from European cancer nurses on all aspects of safety to protect our workforce.

On February 18, the International Childhood Cancer Awareness Day #ICCD2020 took place at the European Parliament, hosted by MEP Patrizia Toia in collaboration with SIOP Europe, CCI-Europe and PanCare to explore the use of artificial intelligence and big data in healthcare. The panellists agreed that a big data platform could enable different data providers – pharmacists, cancer nurses, interventional and non-interventional trials to exchange information for scientific purposes translating data into images to extract knowledge. The use of artificial intelligence in Europe could also increase investments, research and development (R&D), boost competitiveness among EU member states and empower people to work closely together to fight different type of cancers and particularly paediatric cancers. The European Commission also recently launched the European Digital Strategy, to support patients and their health providers and ensure that citizens have control over their personal data, facilitate research and support the development of digital medical devices, diagnostics and services.
Find out more