Guest: Jessica MacIntyre, DNP, MBA, APRN, NP-C, AOCNP

Hosts: Patricia Jakel, MN, RN, AOCN; and Stephanie Desrosiers, DNP, MSN, RN, AOCNS, BMTCN

Key Discussion Points:

• The APP Infrastructure: Building specialized orientation and fellowship programs for advanced practice providers (APPs) to ensure retention and clinical excellence.

• The Evolution of Survivorship: Shifting the definition of "survivor" to begin at the moment of diagnosis and integrating technology to standardize care.

• Skin Toxicity Equity: The launch of a groundbreaking image-based database with ONS and La Roche-Posay to improve outcomes for patients of color.

• The Next Generation: Advice for new oncology nurses on staying curious, seeking mentorship, and the vast career opportunities within the specialty.

Episode Title: Beyond Chemotherapy: Mastering the New ASCO-ONS Antineoplastic Safety Standards with MiKaela Olsen

Release Date: April 1, 2026

Hosts: Patricia Jakel, MN, RN, AOCN, and Stephanie Desrosiers, DNP, MSN, RN, AOCNS, BMTCN

Guest: MiKaela M. Olsen, DNP, APRN-CNS, AOCNS®, FAAN

Episode Overview

The landscape of cancer treatment is evolving at a breakneck pace. To keep up, the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) released a major update to their joint safety standards. In this episode of Onc Nurse on Call, hosts Patricia Jakel, MN, RN, AOCN, and Stephanie Desrosiers, DNP, MSN, RN, AOCNS, BMTCN sit down with MiKaela M. Olsen, DNP, APRN-CNS, AOCNS®, FAAN, clinical program director for oncology at Johns Hopkins Health System and the nurse co-chair for the updated standards.

MiKaela shares her inspiring journey from an unexpected start in a military pediatric oncology unit to becoming one of the nation's leading voices in hazardous drug safety. Together, they break down the critical changes in the 2024 update, why the term "chemotherapy" is officially being phased out, and how nurses can maintain rigorous safety protocols across all care settings—including the home.

Key Topics Covered

• The Shift to "Antineoplastics": Why the traditional word "chemotherapy" is no longer inclusive of modern targeted agents, immunotherapies, and cellular therapies.

• Safety Across All Settings: How the new standards apply universally, whether you are administering treatment in a major hospital, an outpatient clinic, or a patient's home.

• The 4-Step Verification Process: A breakdown of Domain 3, detailing the independent safety checks required by both pharmacy and nursing before a drug reaches the patient.

• Standard 1.7 (The Metric Rule): Why locking scales into kilograms and centimeters and requiring dual-verification for new treatment plans is the new gold standard for preventing dosing errors.

• Focus on Equity and Caregivers: How Domain 4 introduces language addressing social determinants of health and keeping home caregivers safe.

Welcome to Onc Nurse On Call, the new podcast from Oncology Nursing News, hosted by editors-in-chief Patricia Jakel, MN, RN, AOCN, and Stephanie Desrosiers, DNP, MSN, RN, AOCNS, BMTCN, delivering maximum impact in minimum time.

This week, Jakel and Desrosiers are joined by Jamie S. Myers, PhD, RN, AOCNS, FAAN, a research associate professor at the University of Kansas School of Nursing who discusses her career of research in oncology nursing and shares insights on funding, mentorship, and groups to become involved with for nurses who may be new to or interested in research.

Her primary body of research focuses on the cognitive effects of cancer and its treatment, often referred to as “chemo brain.” This interest was sparked during her doctoral studies when she heard a former intensive care nurse describe leaving clinical practice because her own cancer treatment-related cognitive changes made her feel she could no longer practice safely.

For nurses interested in beginning their own research, Myers emphasizes the importance of mentorship and collaboration over attempting to work in isolation. Reflecting on her early career, she admits she was “naive” to think she could manage projects alone and advises new researchers to partner with those who are familiar with institutional approvals and stakeholder management. This collaborative approach is essential for navigating the complex processes of various approval bodies and gatekeepers within a facility.

In her closing remarks, Myers encourages oncology nurses not to rule out research, even if they are well into their careers. She notes that her own transition into research occurred when she was already a “seasoned nurse.” For those ready to take the step, the field offers a way to meet clinical needs and improve the long-term well-being of patients.

Welcome to Onc Nurse On Call, the new podcast from Oncology Nursing News, hosted by editors-in-chief Patricia Jakel, MN, RN, AOCN, and Stephanie Desrosiers, DNP, MSN, RN, AOCNS, BMTCN, delivering maximum impact in minimum time.

This week, Jakel and Desrosiers are joined by Jacqueline Redeemer, RN, MN, AOCNS, a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) in solid tumor oncology at The University of California, Los Angeles, who shared her experience integrating safe handling practices into her clinic as a CNS.

While observing a hepatic arterial infusion procedure in interventional radiology (IR), Redeemer noted that staff were not consistently applying oncology nursing standards. Because the IR department did not frequently administer chemotherapy, there was a misconception that the high-dose melphalan used in the procedure posed minimal risk due to the way it was perfused. Redeemer utilized her CNS training to emphasize that even a small percentage of a highly concentrated dose remaining in systemic circulation required rigorous protection. She noted that the dose being administered was nearly 10 times higher than typical intravenous levels, making the 10% residue a significant safety concern.

To address these gaps, Redeemer initiated a collaborative performance improvement project involving pharmacy, environmental services, and IR leadership. A primary challenge was the introduction of closed system transfer devices (CSTDs), which were unfamiliar to the IR team.

“All staff that would manage or engage with either administering or handling body excreta or anything after...they needed to be in service and receive education,” Redeemer explained, noting that the training extended to technologists, perfusionists, anesthesiologists, and physicians.

“An oncology nurse needs to be at the table at all times when there are decisions about how to administer, handle, or [introduce] new drugs,” she stated. By involving specialized nursing leadership, healthcare systems can ensure that safety standards remain consistent and evidence-based, regardless of the clinical setting or the route of administration.

Welcome to Onc Nurse On Call, the new podcast from Oncology Nursing News, hosted by editors-in-chief Patricia Jakel, MN, RN, AOCN, and Stephanie Desrosiers, DNP, MSN, RN, AOCNS, BMTCN, delivering maximum impact in minimum time.

In this episode, the hosts speak with Emely Alfaro, RN, CNS, OCN, a clinical nurse specialist at University of California San Francisco Health who oversees infusion services across sites. With 2 decades of experience in solid tumor malignancies, Alfaro discusses her clinical focus on difficult IV access (DIVA), a term used in pediatric and emergency medicine that she has worked to validate within oncology.

Alfaro’s research, conducted during her Doctor of Nursing practice (DNP) program, addressed a gap in the literature regarding specialized tools for assessing DIVA in cancer patients. She developed the ONC DIVA tool by modifying the established adult difficult IV access (A-DIVA) tool to include 6 cancer-specific characteristics, such as the presence of metastatic disease and limitations due to lymph node dissections. Her findings confirmed that higher DIVA scores correlate with a higher number of required insertion attempts, reinforcing the importance of early identification.

“We have [post-intervention] data and we’ve seen a much bigger decrease in patients who are getting stuck more than 3 times, which was our goal,” said Alfaro.

Welcome to Onc Nurse On Call, the new podcast from Oncology Nursing News, hosted by editors-in-chief Patricia Jakel, MN, RN, AOCN, and Stephanie Desrosiers, DNP, MSN, RN, AOCNS, BMTCN, delivering maximum impact in minimum time.

This week Kelly Grosklags, LICSW, BCD, FAAGC, FT, shares advice for oncology nurses and advanced practice providers (APPs) dealing with grief at the end of patients’ lives. Grosklags, founder of Conversations With Kelly, explained that patients perceived as being in “denial” of their prognosis are often in need of someone to listen to them, or they are perceived that way as a result of a provider requiring closure of the patient.

Patients who seem unable to approach conversations about the end of life may simply need a conversation about why that is the case.

“Sometimes our psyche can’t take in all this information at once, so we have to compartmentalize it,” said Grosklags. “I’ve never met a patient who…looked like they were denying something that didn’t at some point acknowledge it. You have to acknowledge something to deny it.”

Understanding the mindset of these patients, Grosklags said, may take stepping back and recontextualizing the patient’s experiences.

“Is this part of my own agenda as a provider that I need them to be able to talk about this?” asked Grosklags. “Why am I so activated by this patient and their ‘inability’ to [acknowledge their prognosis]?”

Welcome to Onc Nurse On Call, the new podcast from Oncology Nursing News, hosted by editors-in-chief Patricia Jakel, MN, RN, AOCN, and Stephanie Desrosiers (formerly Jackson), DNP, MSN, RN, AOCNS, BMTCN, delivering maximum impact in minimum time.

This week, social worker Kelly Grosklags, LICSW, BCD, FAAGC, FT, founder of Conversations With Kelly, shared advice for dealing with difficult conversations and false hope in the care of patients with cancer.

The inspiration for her work, Grosklags said, comes from losing her mother when she was 11. While her mother, in her thirties at the time, suffered from heart disease, her young age caused clinicians to approach her care with an emphasis solely on lengthening her lifespan, rather than making the most of the reality her family was faced with.

“The whole goal was to keep her going, keep her going—and no one wanted to talk about the hard stuff,” Grosklags recalled.

Further, some patients develop what Grosklags referred to as “good patient syndrome,” where they fear exposing their care team to the emotional burden of difficult conversations around death and try to shield them from these by acting as if they don’t need them.

Grosklags stressed that hope is cyclical and can occur at any stage of a patient’s care, even at the end of life. The goal of care may not always be cure; it may evolve to become other milestones, like seeing a child graduate high school.

“Part of our job as social workers, as physicians—as anybody working in oncology—is to help introduce patients to that evolution-of-hope cycle.”