2024 Nursing Conference Grant Winning Essays

The questions for this year’s application cycle were as follows: 

1. Please describe how you will share what you learn at this conference with colleagues. 

2. How will you incorporate what you learn from this educational offering into your practice? 

3. How will this conference advance your long-term career goals (beyond the attainment of continuing education hour requirements)? 

 

Essays were lightly edited for grammar, flow, and readability.  

 

Rachel Kunkel LeBeau

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Essay 1:  I would start sharing what I have learned with the leadership team from my inpatient unit and then disseminated information to the bedside staff. Currently, I send "Chemo Pearl" emails to our inpatient nurses where I highlight a chemotherapy and specific protocol or a chemotherapy error trend, and breakdown the pertinent takeaways. I would like to do a "SIOP Pearl" email to share what I have learned during the congress. For those that learn best within an in-person discussion, I would like to host an "Ed Round" session where I share what lectures and research studies I enjoyed. Due to this conference having a global perspective, I would especially be excited to share how those within low-and-middle-income countries utilizes their resources to take exceptional care of their patients. I am always humbled and amazed at nursing care across the world! A second group of colleagues I would like to share information that I have learned with are nurses at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. In 2019 I was fortunate to do a nursing needs assessment on their oncology ward and still keep in touch with the oncologist that provides continuing education to their physicians and nurses. Through a virtual lecture for their nurses, I would like to highlight any takeaways pertinent to their institutional resources and practice.

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Essay 2: I have been a pediatric hematology/oncology nurse at Arkansas Children?s Hospital for 10.5 years. For the past two years, I have been our inpatient units ?Chemotherapy Safety and Education Nurse.? Within my role, I work 0900-2100 (crossing into both shifts) with a focus on chemotherapy admissions and administrations. Throughout the year, I also have the opportunity to assist in teaching the Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses (APHON) ?Chemotherapy/Biotherapy Provider Course? and precept our newer chemotherapy/biotherapy nurses on appropriate, safe administration. Within my love for pediatric hematology/oncology, is also a deep heart for global health medicine. With both passions, I have been involved with The International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) as well as being a member of the APHON Global Outreach committee. If I had the opportunity to attend The International Society of Paediatric Oncology?s Congress in October, I would plan on focusing my attendance to on lectures within ?Nursing? and ?Global Health.? Through attending these focused presentations, I would better learn how to provide care to my patients, how to better train and educate our nurses to provide exceptional care to our patient population, and how to network and form relationships with nurses across the globe to support each other with knowledge gained from our own institutions. I would then be able to take what I?ve learned back to Arkansas and have the opportunity to further volunteer my knowledge within the global committee of APHON and within SIOP.

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Essay 3: By August 2024, I will have been a full-time bedside nurse for twelve years. Whenever I consider furthering my education for a masters or doctorate, I have a strong tug to instead stay at the bedside. There is something that I love about providing direct patient care. Whether that is administering a patient?s chemotherapy, being involved in a new diagnosis conversation, or accessing a patient?s port, there is something sacred about taking care of pediatric hematology/oncology patients. Even though I feel called to still remain at the bedside and not further my education at the moment, I still love to learn and grow within my chosen specialty. Attending The International Society of Paediatric Oncology Congress would give me the opportunity to continue to advance my knowledge base to provide the most up-to-date, best care for each kid I have the opportunity to provide care for. The incredible thing about nursing is that it?s ever evolving and conferences are such a wonderful place to come together and share knowledge, and go back and implement what is learned within your own institution. A long-term career goal is to help teach the APHON Chemotherapy/Biotherapy Provider Course internationally. Attending this conference would give me the opportunity to network with nurses across the globe. In forming these relationships, I would hope to find institutions that could partner with APHON to have the course provided virtually or in-person.

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