Patient and Oncology Nurse Empowerment

By Erin Longstreth-Papsun M.S.N., RN, OCN

I am writing to nominate Janet Farley, B.S.N., RN, OCN, for the Extraordinary Healer® Award.

I have worked with Janet as her direct manager in radiation oncology for five years. Janet is an exemplary nurse in every way. Although she is at our satellite Buckingham location, she still works very hard to remain engaged, aware and involved in all that happens at the main campus and across the Temple Health System.

She is an incredibly passionate nurse who provides high-quality patient care every day to her patient population, which is made evident each month by patients who explicitly name Janet and spotlight her work ethic, professionalism and compassion in their Press Ganey survey comments.

Janet should specifically be recognized this year for her efforts toward structural empowerment within the nursing department. Janet has made significant contributions as chair of the Clinical Development and Advancement Ladder committee. She was involved in creating a simulation nurse role in radiation oncology to enhance patient education and comfort, and she has helped in the onboarding of many new nurses and clinic assistants.

These projects have had a big impact on the professional practice of the department of nursing as well as on patient care and outcomes, clearly aligning with the mission of the ANCC Magnet designation.

Janet brings our values at Fox Chase Cancer Center to life. She takes her job very seriously, is conscientious and delivers patient care with compassion and integrity. She builds strong partnerships with peers and other disciplines across the institution as well as in the community.

Janet is eager to get involved in quality improvement projects at the unit or hospital level. Janet is also the Magnet Champion for our Buckingham site and will be instrumental in creating bulletin boards and a prepping a question binder for our unit to assist her peers in preparation for the Magnet Appraisal visit, while also contributing to the Magnet fair and educating staff within the hospital on transformational leadership.

Another project that Janet was involved in was the CyberKnife handoff tool. She and a peer identified a gap in communication related to patients being treated with CyberKnife and created a multidisciplinary handoff communication tool used by the attendings, residents and nurses to improve communication, collaboration, quality of care and patient flow between the main campus and Buckingham.

Janet also attends and contributes to community outreach through American Cancer Society Hope Lodge dinner events, which has been a great way to partner with others in our nursing department. She also holds a seat on the board of the local Oncology Nursing Society chapter.

Janet is an extraordinary person and clinician who is the epitome of nursing at its best, which is why I would like her to be considered for the Extraordinary Healer® Award.

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