“It is very much a collaborative group process. There are group meetings where we come to consensus on our different ratings. There’s so much support from ONS staff, even amongst our different groups, even when you’re assigned to one peer reviewer. Let’s say you go on vacation, sometimes we’re paired with other people, too. So there is some flexibility in the opportunity as well,” Holly Tenaglia, DNP, APRN, AGCNS-BC, OCN®, lecturer at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about what oncology nurses need to know about volunteering as a reviewer for ONS’s symptom intervention resources. 

Music Credit: “Fireflies and Stardust” by Kevin MacLeod 

Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0  

Episode Notes  

• NCPD contact hours are not available for this episode. 
• Volunteer Opportunities on ONS Communities 
• Sign up for ONS Weekly Update emails 
• Symptom Intervention Resources 
• ONS Podcast™ episodes: 
  • Episode 342: What It’s Like to Serve on the Leadership Development Committee 
  • Episode 323: What It’s Like to Participate in an ONS Think Tank 
  • Episode 76: ONS Guidelines Will Answer Key Symptom Management Questions 
• ONS Voice articles:
  • A Spirit of Inquiry Leads to Evidence-Based Answers to Practice Questions 
  • Search the Literature to Critically Appraise Evidence 
  • Working Together, Passionate ONS Volunteers Are Transforming Cancer Care 
  • What Brings You Value in ONS? You Can Thank a Volunteer for That 
• ONS blog: I Volunteered at the 47th Annual ONS Congress®—Here’s What I Learned 
• ONS course: Treatment and Symptom Management—Oncology RN 

To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.   

To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library.  

To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email [email protected].  

Highlights From This Episode  

“As far as how it would help oncology nurses, we try to make it honestly simpler by doing the legwork of reviewing the evidence, synthesizing what the rating of the evidence and what it means. And then as you’ll see on the symptom intervention resource, you’ll see kind of a snapshot of what our recommendations are for applying it to practice.” TS 7:46 

“I am a clinical nurse specialist and now that I work in academia, this is a very important skill for me to build and have in my profession. Also, those group meetings that we have, I really appreciated being able to learn from others and then being able to teach that to others. So in this second round, for example, the thing that I’ve really enjoyed personally is actually being able to mentor somebody that maybe hasn’t done it as often and just being able to watch them grow and improve in their skills while you provide feedback.” TS 9:05 

“We get a new article about every two weeks, and this involves about a week for myself and then about a week or less than that for my partner to go through this process as well. So being able to manage your time to afford your partner the time to solidly look through the article as well. And then being able to collaborate and receive feedback from your peers.” TS 13:06 

“There have been times where the evidence has not given us the results that I think we were assuming we would see. And so while the standardized tools mitigate some of the bias, we do recognize that it won’t remove the bias entirely, but it does help make your view more objective. What are some common misconceptions about developing symptom intervention resources? I’d say personally, I don’t know if I had misconceptions before I was part of the team as much as I just didn’t know what the process entailed.” TS 18:18 

“ONS is really committed to the growth of its members. I’ve really enjoyed being part of this volunteer opportunities and the other ones that I’ve been a part of. So truly, if you have a passion for something and you have the skills, ONS would love to have you and you will meet some of the greatest people in doing these opportunities. I’ve made some of the best connections and friendships through the volunteer opportunities I’ve done.” TS 21:35