Nursing Services

Definition of Professional Nursing

Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations.

From ANA’s Nursing’s Social Policy Statement, Second Edition
(©2003 American Nurses Association, Silver Spring, MD)

Nurses throughout UM/Sylvester strive to reduce the human burden from cancer and other serious illnesses by providing safe, competent, high-quality nursing care through the use of evidence-based best practices. 

Site Disease Group
The Site Disease Group nurses provide intake and case management services for all new patients seeking care at UM/Sylvester.  As the entry point for the hospital, the nurses triage the patient to ensure that the appropriate health care team member meets the patient’s needs.  Along with providing initial patient and family education, the nurses facilitate obtaining the patient’s medical records, test results and reports, as well as coordinate their initial appointments/consultations with the physician. 

Comprehensive Treatment Unit (CTU)
CTU is an outpatient unit comprised of 31 chairs and eight overnight beds where nurses provide care to patients who are receiving chemotherapy, biotherapy, hydration, transfusion, non-chemotherapy treatments, and those participating in Phase I clinical trials.  The RN staff uses a modified primary care model to provide extensive patient and family education and a variety of comfort measures to facilitate individualized patient care.

Inpatient Unit
Inpatient nursing services are provided in our 40-bed medical /surgical oncology unit for patients experiencing needs along the entire continuum, ranging from disease prevention and diagnosis, to end-of-life care. This unit also includes a three-bed evaluation and treatment area designed to assist with after-hours symptom management.  Nursing care is provided using the 12-Bed Hospital model, with RN clinical facilitators responsible for 24-hour clinical management of patients.

Outpatient Ambulatory Services
Nursing care is provided in a variety of outpatient ambulatory settings which include the Hematology-Oncology Clinic, Surgical Oncology Clinic, Head and Neck Clinic, Gynecology Oncology Clinic, Outpatient Department Clinic, Spine Clinic, Cardiology Clinic, and Radiation Oncology.  In addition, UM/Sylvester has two satellite clinics in Deerfield Beach and Miramar.

The focus of care in the Outpatient Ambulatory Clinics includes:

• Prevention and early detection of disease
• Cancer screening and diagnosis
• Clinical research trials
• State-of-the-art medical therapy and treatment planning
• Follow-up care for long-term, chronic ailments
• Educational, nutritional, psychological, emotional, and spiritual counseling

Nurses within the Head and Neck/Airway and Radiation Oncology clinics use a Primary Care model which allows the nurse to be more involved and accountable for patient outcomes.  Plans are in place in the near future to phase in the Primary Care model to the remainder of the outpatient ambulatory settings.

Perioperative Services
Nurses function within perioperative services in a variety of settings providing state-of-the-art, evidence-based nursing care, which includes patient and family education, nursing interventions and patient monitoring.  AORN and ASPAN standards are used as guidelines for nursing care and staffing as appropriate. 

Nursing care within Perioperative Services is provided in the:

• Pre-operative, operative and PACU areas
• Specialty areas (Interventional Radiology, Ultrasound Lab, PET/CT scan, Cardiology Lab, Radiology and Nuclear Medicine)
• GI/Endoscopy Unit
• GI/Specialty Recovery
• GI Clinic
• Pain Management Clinic
• Mohs Clinic (surgical facial cancer treatment and laser treatment)