Find out about opportunities to develop your skills and knowledge.
In this section
Positive health and care outcomes rely hugely on the professional practice and behaviours of nurses. (NMC enabling professionalism).
For clinical nurse specialists to develop and keep up to date as practitioners, continuing professional development is essential. Whether through academic or experiential learning, developing core competencies, skills and knowledge can bring a wealth of benefits to the care of those with secondary breast cancer.
In this section, we look at:
- Opportunities to develop competencies, skills and knowledge
- Making the most of your peers and networking opportunities
- Finding funding for academic courses and training
1. Opportunities to develop competencies, skills and knowledge
Professional development helps you to deliver healthcare that meets the changing needs of your patients with secondary breast cancer and improve clinical practice.
Nurses are expected to develop and maintain practice and are required to complete the process of revalidation in order to maintain registration as practitioners through the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
Career and education frameworks can help cancer nurses to plan their professional pathway needs. They may also help nurses to apply cancer-specific knowledge and skills in the management of patients with complex needs, and so contribute to the development of patient services in this specialist field.
- Royal College of Nursing and UK Oncology Nursing Society Career and Education Framework for Cancer Nursing
- European Oncology Nursing Society Cancer Nursing Education Framework
Finding and funding appropriate methods of professional development isn’t easy. Below are examples of academic courses that may provide specialist study and update opportunities.
Study courses
- Nurse Prescribing - Cardiff
- Nurse Prescribing – Medway School of Pharmacy
- Advanced Clinical Health Assessment - Coventry University
- Managing challenging conversations virtually - Royal Marsden School
Metastatic breast cancer
A free, online blended learning programme for cancer nurses to develop their knowledge and skills in the care of people with advanced breast cancer (ABC).
The course consists of 6 modules and is designed by top cancer experts. Features case studies, questions, videos and interactive activities which give you lots of opportunity to check your understanding of what’s been covered and how you can apply it in your own practice.
- Living With And Beyond Cancer – Royal Marsden School
Palliative Care
Acute oncology
- Acute Clinical Oncology – University of Liverpool
- Principles of Acute Oncology - University of Central Lancashire
Communication
Online training modules and clinical updates
- Managing metastatic spinal cord compression (free online module) – BMJ Learning (you’ll need to register for site)
- Family-centred Cancer Care: Conversations (an e-learning module to help healthcare professionals empower parents to communicate with their children about their cancer)
- Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw - (MRONJ) a short online module on the Fundamentals of MRONJ and a Complete Guide on the Management of MRONJ (you may need to register for the site)
- Talking about sex and cancer - this learning pack is suitable for any health care professional wishing to develop their knowledge further within this area of practice.
Other helpful sites
The European School of Oncology aims to contribute to the reduction of deaths from cancer due to late diagnosis and/or inadequate treatment. By improving the skills of all health professionals dealing with cancer patients, ESO helps shorten the time needed to transfer knowledge from research centres to daily practice, combining advanced technology with humanism in care.
Online learning offers a new way to explore relevant health and psychology subjects including a range of courses on cancer modules on targeted treatments and palliative care.
Marie Curie Palliative Care Knowledge Zone
Read expert information, knowledge and support to help you deliver the best possible care for people living with a terminal illness. A range of information for healthcare professionals, relevant to your day-to-day including symptom control.
2. Making the most of your peers and networking opportunities
Sharing best practice and networking
There are a number of peer-learning and networking opportunities for nurses working in secondary breast cancer to share ideas and best practice.
Networking
Whilst some CNSs have been providing support to those with secondary breast cancer alongside that of primary breast cancer patients, dedicated secondary breast cancer CNS roles are relatively new in cancer nursing. Often nurses work autonomously and in isolation, so networking with others in similar roles can be crucial in finding peer support and sharing ideas and good practice.
Secondary Breast Cancer Nursing Group
Breast Cancer Now's free Secondary Breast Cancer Nursing Group is open to any Breast Cancer Now healthcare professionals hub member (including breast care nurses, clinical nurse specialists, breast care practitioners, research nurses and palliative care nurses) who offers care to people diagnosed with secondary breast cancer.
One of its aims is to provide a peer support network opportunity for members, in recognition of the emotional demands of working with people with secondary breast cancer.
It also supports nurses’ professional development by providing some clinical updates to count towards Nursing and Midwifery Council revalidation, as well as a host of benefits and opportunities to share best practice with other nurses across the UK.
You can join the secondary breast cancer nursing group by contacting hcpengagement@breastcancernow.org.
Visit other units
Whether you are new to your role or have been supporting patients with secondary breast cancer for some time, visits to other breast oncology units or undertaking a short placement to observe service delivery can be extremely valuable.
Visiting others who work in similar teams or are lone working may give you new ideas or simply facilitate peer discussion about the challenges you share. It’s always worth defining your objectives before your visit so you can make the most of your time.
Recording outcomes and observations are also valuable to share with colleagues as well as for revalidation purposes.
Useful resources
3. Funding for study
Whilst the need to acquire and maintain knowledge, competencies and skills may be obvious, finding the resources to fund academic courses and fund study leave can be very difficult in the current financial climate.
There are a number of organisations who can provide funding for nursing studies according to the nature and content of this, including both RCN bursaries and non RCN funding options.
As a nursing professional, you can apply for a range of scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities offered by organisations outside the RCN.