A Hybrid Oncology Certification Review Course: An Intervention for Increasing Certified Nurses

Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) is a 100 bed NCI designated hospital that provides over 167,000 outpatient clinic visits annually. In early 2016, only 22% of nurses were oncology certified despite the available financial support for exam reimbursement and a review program conducted in a study group format. To address this gap HCI applied for and was accepted into the ONCC Free Take Program. An institution-wide Clinical Ladder program was implemented, and based on per-intervention surveys the review program was reformatted into a hybrid design. Structured classes provided by oncology certified educators combined with an online asynchronous component may better support nurses in obtaining their OCN versus a traditional study group. This intervention will ultimately improve patient outcomes and the quality of nursing care for oncology patients.