• Curriculum
• Post-basic
• Older people
• Breast cancer
• Lung cancer

Curriculum for cancer in older people

The EONS Curriculum for Cancer in Older People was successfully launched at the 5th Spring Convention which was held in April 2006 in Innsbruck, Austria. The care of older persons with cancer was not only the theme for the EONS Spring Convention but is also a topic of timely importance for oncology nurses throughout Europe. It is within this context that EONS should be congratulated for the development of this remarkable, ground-breaking body of work.

The curriculum emerged from recommendations of the EONS Oncology Expert Panel who identified a need for an educational framework to support nurses to care for older people with cancer. The aging of the European population in general and the growing number of older people being treated for cancer in cancer settings as well as in facilities for the elderly have challenged cancer nurses to provide appropriate care to patients with complex problems. A steering group, comprised of a multi-specialist nursing team, was established to draft a curriculum on the care of older patients with cancer based on the needs identified by the expert panel. The steering group commissioned the Cancer Care Research Centre at the University of Stirling to further refine the curriculum content. Cooperation with the recently founded European Nursing Academy for Care of Older Persons (ENACO) enhanced the project work.

The curriculum fulfils the need of European nurses for consistent, standardised education. As such, it aims to provide nurses with the basic knowledge and skills to optimise the care of older people. This curriculum is unique in that it overcomes the boundaries of specialisation and fragmentation of care by encouraging nurses from different specialties to train together.

The EONS Cancer in Older People Curriculum was developed following the framework of the EONS Post-basic Curriculum in Cancer Nursing, 2005 (third edition). This curriculum differs from the post-basic curriculum in several aspects. For example, the targeted student group is cancer nurses as well as nurses who care for the elderly in a range of facilities. In order to accommodate the learning needs of all potential students, this curriculum is at a more basic level, is of shorter duration and has less credit points than the post-basic curriculum. Following completion of the Cancer in Older People Curriculum students can continue on to the Post-basic Curriculum in Cancer Nursing.

Structure and mode of delivery of the curriculum

The curriculum has a modular framework comprising of five modules that can be taken together as a complete course or as a stand alone module useful for continued professional development. The course includes practice as well as theory elements. The overall length of the course is 300 hours. Learning outcomes and competencies have been identified so that users of the framework can apply for institutional credits at the appropriate level. Each module provides a self-contained training module with content, assessment of learning outcomes and competencies for practice. Two of the modules are intended for distance learning and the remaining three can be covered over a three-month period. Each module includes an assignment in the format of a reflective portfolio to demonstrate learning over the whole course.

Clinical experience

To enhance the clinical experience, nurses working within oncology should seek clinical placement in a gerontology unit or residential home and nurses working in a general or gerontology unit should seek placement in an oncology unit. Nurses with appropriate clinical experience should be allocated as mentors.

Aims of the EONS cancer in older people curriculum

• Provide a practice based framework for educators and managers to facilitate post basic training for nurses caring for older people with cancer
• Enhance nurses' knowledge, understanding and practice skills to improve health care management for older people with cancer
• Enhance multi-professional working between oncology and gerontology teams to improve outcomes for older people with cancer
• To empower nurses working with older people with cancer to offer input into the multidisciplinary cancer team for research, management and practice
• To foster the development of strategic capacity and capability within the context of nursing older people with cancer in any setting.

Entry requirements

A nurse must have achieved first level qualification and have had at least one year clinical experience to be eligible for participation in the course.

If you would like a copy of the EONS Curriculum for Cancer in Older People please contact the EONS Secretariat at: eons.secretariat@cancernurse.eu.

This project was developed with the support of an educational grant from Amgen (Europe) GmbH.