Use of anticancer drugs outside of cancer services for both malignant and nonmalignant conditions is increasing. This increase places additional pressure on cancer services to provide expertise, training and support to external healthcare teams administering anticancer drugs, to ensure patient and staff safety is upheld. Anticancer drugs are high risk medicines whose safe handling and administration require specialised skills, knowledge, and training. To address this challenge, a blended learning which supports the safe handling and administration of anticancer drugs was co-designed for healthcare services operating outside the cancer setting.
Methods
A needs assessment involving 280 healthcare workers from non-cancer clinical wards, community services, hospital-in-the-home, and ambulatory care units across diverse public, private, regional, rural, and metropolitan settings identified specific roles and skill gaps related to caring for patients receiving anticancer drugs. Using a Delphi-type method led by two subject matter experts in adult and paediatric oncology and incorporating three rounds of feedback, 42 healthcare workers collaborated on the content, design, and development of a comprehensive three-module blended learning course.
Impact on practice
Completion of this course aims to enhance the knowledge and skills of healthcare professionals outside cancer services by enabling them to:
Discussion
The resources will be introduced during a July training session to help educators and learners fulfill the training requirements. Participant feedback will be collected through surveys to evaluate the program’s effectiveness in improving patient care and workplace safety in healthcare services operating outside the cancer setting.
Initial feedback from review group members is positive.