West Cancer Foundation Grant to Fund Oncology Education at UT Health Science Center College of Nursing

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center's College of Nursing has received a $144,469 grant from the West Cancer Foundation that will support innovative educational opportunities to prepare nurses and nursing students to meet the specific needs of oncology patients.

The project, Providing the Oncology Workforce Education and Resources (POWER) for Nursing Program, will enhance oncology education in nursing in four ways. It will fund a Distinguished Visiting Professorship in Oncology Nursing; it will support the development of an oncology elective in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program at UT Health Science Center; and it will fund two students as oncology nurse scholars and two students as oncology research nurse scholars.

The Oncology Scholars programs are one-year courses open to traditional BSN students, which will take place in the last year of their BSN degrees. Students in the Oncology Scholars programs will have paid clinical or research opportunities in diverse oncology settings in the Mid-South. They will also do oncology coursework to gain more knowledge in the field and agree to work in an oncology setting upon graduation, said College of Nursing Dean Wendy Likes, PhD, DNSC, APRN-BC, FAAN, FAANP.

"We are excited to offer this opportunity to our students and very pleased to collaborate with a community partner like West Cancer Foundation in order to meet the needs of our health care partners in the Mid-South," Dr. Likes said. "We truly value our community partners and constantly seek ways to meet their needs through our educational programming."

West Cancer Foundation's mission is to break through barriers to cancer care and improve patient outcomes by providing accessible patient resources, early detection and education, and research to improve health inequities. The grant to UT Health Science Center is the latest among 17 grants West Cancer Foundation has awarded to the university totaling just under $2.2 million.

"We're thrilled to continue our partnership with UT Health Science Center with this latest grant that will significantly improve the education and research opportunities for oncology nursing in our community," said Leighanne Soden, president of West Cancer Foundation. "Oncology nursing is a very specific specialty, and increasing the number of resources available to oncology nurses in training is a key priority for West Cancer Foundation to continue to break through barriers to cancer care."

The BSN oncology elective and both Oncology Scholars programs are scheduled to go into effect in 2025. The Bernie Crook Distinguished Visiting Professorship in Oncology Nursing will take place at 5:30 p.m. on February 3, 2025, at the FedEx Event Center. The free event will offer continuing education units, and a registration link will soon be available at cenow.uthsc.edu.