Implementation of a Survivorship Care Plan within the Oncology Department of a Midwestern Hospital that Serves Both Urban and Rural Veteran Population.

Cancer survivors are steadily increasing, with continued cancer research and treatment improvements, this number is expected to multiply yearly (Mayer, Birken, Check & Chen, 2014). The Institute of Medicine and American Society of Clinical Oncology emphasized the importance of survivorship care plan (SCP) implementation to improve cancer survivor’s health by coordinating care between active cancer treatment and survivorship follow-up (United States Department of Health and Human Services, 2016). A survivorship care plan is a tool used to communicate information to the veteran, primary care provider, and oncology health care provider. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) developed templates to aid in communicating the survivor’s follow-up care clearly to the primary care provider (PCP). The SCP specifies the veteran’s cancer information, including diagnosis, staging, type of treatment received, what surveillance follow-up is needed and health promotion and disease prevention items. This doctor of nursing practice (DNP) Project was a quality improvement project that implemented SCPs within an institution that previously did not use SCPs. Results demonstrated clinical and statistical significance in veteran perceived knowledge after receiving a SCP in the areas of physical effects of cancer and cancer treatments, which provider handles emotional or physical concerns, prevention of long term cancer and its effects, and resources available to cancer survivors for financial or work related problems when compared to previous protocol. This project outlined the theoretical framework, methods and steps utilized to implement SCPs within an oncology clinic located at a VA medical facility