Prior to my travels, I wanted to do my due diligence to research the country. It was important to learn more about how nurses are valued in Colombia, research how involved nurses are in the multidisciplinary team, what cancer(s) have the highest prevalence, and if there was a call to action plan in place to address it. Interestingly, Colombia is one of the top 30 countries most in need of professional nurses, ranking 19 in the world.

After several conference calls with Professor Gloria Mabel Carrillo, one of the organizers of the conference, as well as conversations with my colleague and Colombian native, Maria Czupryn MS, ARNP, AOCN, it was clear that the role of the oncology nurse needed a resurgence there.

 I learned through conversations with them that the role of nurses is not heavily weighted in Colombia; nurses do not have a lot of autonomy, and I was told that some view the role of the nurse as a delegate and not as a team player. As a matter of fact, the role of the advanced practice nurse is non-existent there; quite contrary to what we see in the United States, as some oncology clinics are led by advanced practice nurses, and in some states this group of professionals have prescriptive authority.

During my presentation on symptom management, I shared some of the best resources used by oncology nurses to date, Oncology Nursing Society’s (ONS), Putting Evidence into Practice (PEP) resources. This was a distinctive choice as these resources were made for oncology nurses by fellow oncology nurses, advanced practice nurses, and nursing researchers all at the forefront of tackling issues that impact our oncology patients. Throughout the conference, several nursing students presented their research projects on various oncology topics and issues, highlighting their eagerness and willingness to tackle issues currently impacting our profession and patients, and sharing their innovative ideas.