Cancer Nursing Development Pathway

Beyond unit-based resources, our Academic Nursing Unit offers additional support through a dedicated Clinical Support Nurse role. The Clinical Support Nurse works as a clinical resource with the aim of providing guidance and assistance to nurses participating in the pathway.

Over a 12-month period, the pathway offers nurses opportunities to set individualised learning and development goals, attain unit-based competencies, and participate in small group education sessions, with the aim of supporting nurses joining the organisation along their career pathway in a nurturing environment. Nurses participating in the CNDP will enjoy the same career development as any other nurse within Peter Mac.

Nurses will be considered for participation in the pathway by their Nurse Unit Manager at the time of recruitment. Eligibility criteria for participation includes:

• Current Division One registration with the Nursing Midwifery Board of Australia
• Grade 2 Year 2 and above – Upon completion of a graduate year
• Less than 12 months of acute cancer care experience
• Ability to work a rotating roster Monday through to Sunday
• Minimum contracted hours of 0.63FTE (48 hours per fortnight)

Nurses are employed by the ward through normal recruitment processes and will continue working on their chosen unit after the 12-months with ongoing opportunities to participate in professional development.

Current clinical areas where the CNDP is available.

Medical Oncology - Ward 3A

Ward 3A is a 32-bed ward with a clinical focus on people who have been diagnosed with lung, head and neck, bone, soft tissue sarcoma, skin and melanoma, urological, gynaecological and gastrointestinal cancers. Treatment modalities provided to patients include chemotherapy, external beam radiotherapy, nuclear medicine treatments and palliative care.

Haematology - Ward 5A

Ward 5A is a 32-bed ward with a clinical focus on people who have been diagnosed with haematological cancers and breast cancer. The haematological malignancies include myelodysplastic syndromes, myeloproliferative disorders, aplastic anaemia, Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple myeloma and plasma cell disorders. Treatment modalities provided to patients include chemotherapy, autologous stem cell transplantation and CAR T cell therapy.

Surgical - Ward 6A

Ward 6A is a 32-bed ward with a clinical focus on people receiving surgery following a cancer diagnosis This includes people who have been diagnosed with gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, urological, prostate, gynaecological, breast, head and neck, melanoma and sarcoma cancers.

Day of Surgery Admissions (DOSA) and Surgical Short Stay (SSU)

DOSA is the surgical admissions unit where patients are admitted prior to their procedure for their planned surgical procedure. Patients having day procedures will generally return to DOSA for monitoring until they are ready for discharge on that day.  SSU provides oncology care across all treatment modalities with the aim of rapid assessment and interventions to stabilise a person’s presenting systems until they can be transferred to an inpatient ward for longer-term treatment. Short stay also cares for post-operative patients requiring overnight monitoring prior to being discharged the next day.