Susan Weiss Behrend, RN MSN AOCN®
Advanced practice oncology nurse, clinician, educator, consultant, and international speaker.
MULTIDISCIPLINARY AMBULATORY ONCOLOGY
Contemporary ambulatory oncology is founded on evidence based multidisciplinary practice, structured delivery systems, and clinical research.
PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
Educational programs must be accessible and emphasize collaborative patient care, academic certification pathways and ensuring clinical competency.
CONSULTATION
Every nurse has leadership potential. Susan’s consultative approach is founded on identifying a professional common ground through creative modeling and role delineation.
A professional career evolves from educational pursuits that inspire critical, ethical thinking and a life-long desire to access evolutionary knowledge.
- Susan Weiss Behrend
Focused clinical practice must be complemented by a roster of global experience that fosters a worldly appreciation for the infinite possibilities of human growth and development.
- Susan Weiss Behrend
Areas of Expertise
Role Development
The swift evolution of ambulatory oncology has pushed the envelope forward and solidified the professionalism of models of professional oncology nursing. The multi-specialty practice of oncology defines the expanded clinical, administrative, research and leadership scholarship of ambulatory nurses.
Identify Clinical Paradigms
Presently clinical paradigms drive the role of the ambulatory oncology nurse. Interdisciplinary teams manage patients from initial consultation through a course of treatment and short and long term follow up. Emphasis on maximizing quality care along with ensuring nursing sensitive patient outcomes are prioritized.
Assess Strategic Assets
Data acquisition is considered a pivotal component of sound decision-making. , and enables the justification of interventions which leads to recommendations for evidenced based clinical practice.
Impact of Multidisciplinary Hierarchies
Gaining familiarity with the multidisciplinary team is enlightening. Ambulatory oncology is a transformative specialty rooted in the work of a proficient team of professionals representing a variety of disciplines.
Focus on Collaboration
Practice must be based on a foundation of natural collaboration. Knowing who does what, sharing knowledge of one another's roles, and identifying how knowledge and patient data flows and to whom is pivotal to promoting collaborative organizational communities.
Dimensions of Quality Care
Quality is the degree to which health service for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with professional knowledge. It is necessary to define the level of care by which quality can be evaluated. The scope and standards of nursing care provide the foundation for quality care.
Technology is the Seed of Healthcare Advances
Technological breakthroughs revolutionize health care. These advancements must be considered co-dependents in practice. The “squeeze” of the tech could potentially compromise the “touch” of practice.
AI, Right Here, Right Now
Nurses will be key players on AI teams. Our role will be as experts and end users to provide feedback to the data scientists about the validity of the data utilized to design and train systems. Nurses will ensure that ethical considerations are prioritized and that accountability for nursing judgements, decisions, and actions referring to technologies as aids rather than substitutions for nursing skill and judgment are responsible.
Every Nurse is a Leader
Every nurse has leadership potential. A focus on visibility in all sectors will solidify nurses as prominent leaders. Nursing associations should provide leadership development and mentoring programs, and academic curricula should integrate leadership theory. Public, private, and governmental health care decision makers should include representation from nurses in all key leadership positions.
Expert Insights and Global Speaking Engagements
Advancing Ambulatory Cancer Care:- Multidisciplinary clinical care in ambulatory and radiation oncology
- Ensuring evidence-based practice across all oncology specialties
- Topics related to professional staff education
- Leadership development trajectories
- Regional, national, and global oncology trends