Objective To evaluate a hospital-based peer support program for women diagnosed with breast or a gynaecological cancer.

Methods A mixed methods study: a retrospective service data audit and surveys with women, peer support volunteers and health service staff.

Results Data were collected from February 2016 to December 2018. A total of 464 women with breast cancer and 16 with a gynaecological cancer participated in the program. A total of 50 women, 21 health service staff and three peer support volunteers completed a survey. Women’s experiences were positive, and volunteers and health service staff perceived that the program had benefited women with breast or a gynaecological cancer.

Conclusions Peer support programs appear to be an effective and acceptable component of breast/gynaecological cancer care in an acute care setting, and are able to provide women with information and emotional and practical support at the time of diagnosis and during treatment.

The oncology nurse role is wide-ranging. It involves complex patient assessment, caring for the neutropaenic septic patient, community cancer prevention and detection strategies, patient education, supportive care, and symptom management¹. Within this specialised field, and as part of continuing professional development (CPD), the registered nurse (RN) is required to undertake practical assessments, or clinical competencies, to demonstrate competence in practice. The senior oncology nurse is required to allocate staff and workload. Anecdotally, it is difficult to determine which nurse is capable of caring for which patient(s) based on clinical competencies alone^2,3. To help understand the decision-making process, this qualitative interpretive description study sought to explore how mentors of novice RNs evaluated capability in the oncology clinical practice through semi-structured interviews. Findings were framed and evolved, resulting in five categories of: evaluation; characteristics of capability; competency versus capability; postgraduate studies and their impact; and barriers to evaluation and capability building.

Aim To conduct a scoping review on the scope of practice of oncology nurses in identification, management of symptoms, and treatment of cancer-related lymphoedema.

Background Cancer-related lymphoedema arises from removal and/or injury to the lymphatic system caused by cancer metastasis and/or cancer treatment. Early identification is crucial for prevention of this chronic condition.

Methods A search of six electronic databases was undertaken in May 2020 to identify relevant studies. Primary research studies that reported on the nursing scope of practice were included. Two reviewers independently screened articles and completed data abstraction including data charting.

Results 2515 references were retrieved; three studies were included for the study. One study considered the nursing scope of practice; two articles focused on general descriptions of nurses’ role in patient education, symptom management and patient referral.

Conclusion Oncology nurses’ scope of practice in identifying, treating and managing lymphoedema is not clearly defined.