EMPOWERING
Pictured here in the summer of 2019, the IMF Nurse Leadership Board is made up of myeloma nursing experts from major centers where myeloma is treated.
IMF NURSE LEADERSHIP BOARD ADAPTS IN FISCAL YEAR 2020 The IMF Nurse Leadership Board® (NLB) consists of nurse experts from leading medical centers caring for myeloma patients who collaborate to improve the lives of myeloma patients. Due to the pandemic, the NLB reimagined many programs in 2020, adapting in-person events to virtual programming. The NLB’s 2020 Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Satellite Symposium, “New Strategies for Multiple Myeloma Care: Case Studies for Nurses,” was led by co-chairs Beth Faiman, PhD, RN, MSN, APRN-BC, AOCN, FAAN (Cleveland Clinic — Taussig Cancer Institute) and Joseph Tariman, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, FAAN (DePaul University — Chicago) as well as faculty members Amy Pierre, RN, MSN, ANP-BC (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center — Montvale, NJ) and Tiffany Richards, PhD, ANP-BC (MD Anderson Cancer Center — Houston). They used real-life patient case scenarios on symptom management, infection control, and nursing implications. The newest treatments were addressed, meeting a critical need for nurses during this difficult time. The symposium was highlighted as part of ONS Bridge and offered 1.5 CE through August 2021. This fiscal year, NLB members served as faculty at IMF education forums, including 2 Patient & Family Webinars, 5 IMF Regional Community Workshops, and 17 virtual support group presentations, reaching 7,000 attendees. The NLB faculty participated at the Support Group Leaders Summit, attended ASH with the Support
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Group Leaders, and conducted numerous roundtables with patients and professionals with the objective of improving care and quality of life for myeloma patients. A “Living Well with Myeloma” webinar on “Multiple Myeloma Patient Safety and the Coronavirus,” was co-led by Dr. Beth Faiman in April. Beth Faiman, PhD, RN, MSN, APRN- BC, AOCN, FAAN (Cleveland Clinic — Taussig Cancer Institute); Kim Noonan, RN, ANP, AOCN, DNP (DanaFarber Cancer Institute — Boston); and Charise Gleason MSN, NP-BC, AOCNP (Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University — Atlanta) were contributing authors on a consensus paper on selinexor treatment along with IMWG members, while Amy Pierre RN, MSN, ANP-BC, published “African American Patients with Myeloma” in collaboration with IMF support group leader Tiffany Williams in the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing. Finally, travel restrictions could not deter the important work of the NLB. At their sixteenth annual meeting, held virtually in September, the NLB celebrated the upcoming launch of Myeloma University, an education program that delivers nurse education on myeloma in simple and concise modules via an app. The group created tip sheets for patients on topics including telehealth and infection control, developed educational case studies, and updated their patient education decks, unveiling their new “Galactic Journey”-themed deck at the 2020 October Regional Community Workshop.
