At the Heart of Patient Care

Widening Horizons – Improving Practice

Professional nursing practice at SKMCH&RC is promoted through membership of the Pakistan Cancer Nursing Forum affiliated to the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care and through membership of the Asia Pacific Hospice Network.

Nursing at Shaukat Khanum offers much more than the traditional image of nursing. Nurses provide care to patients receiving complex treatment for their disease through surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and nuclear medicine processes. In addition to informing patients about their disease and its treatment, nurses provide emotional support.

A large part of what they do is patient education. Patients are advised on what to expect during their stay and after they are discharged. It also includes teaching them about what drugs they will be taking and the side effects of those drugs, blood transfusions, how to look for signs of infection and bleeding and dietary changes. Team Nursing and Nursing Documentation are seen as very important as they foster team spirit and improve the quality of care given to patients and their families.

The Nursing Division is ISO-9002 Quality Management Certified and working towards JCIA, therefore is continually striving to improve its practice and thereby its quality of care to patients and their relatives.

Professional Structure

The Nursing Division is headed by the Director of Nursing/Nursing Education. There are five grades of clinical nursing staff - Clinical Nurse Managers, Team Leaders, Senior Staff Nurses, Staff Nurses and Trainee Staff Nurses. A competitive salary package is available for all levels of Nursing Staff.

The Nursing Environment Includes:

Inpatient Departments that cover Adult and Pediatric Oncology, Peri-operative Nursing, Intensive Care Nursing, Surgery, Internal Medicine, Radiation Nursing, Nuclear Medicine Nursing and Palliative Care Nursing.

In the busy Outpatient Department, The Chemotherapy Day Suite and The Emergency Assessment Room nursing provide a comprehensive service to support adult and pediatric patients.

Specialist roles in nursing have being developed to support and advance nursing practice - roles in Infection Control, Nursing Risk Management/Evidence-Based Practice, Breast Care Nursing. These new roles aim to improve the quality of care to patients and their families.

Professional Development / Educational Pathway

All nurses must complete a series of workshops designed to enhance their practice, including Induction and Orientation Programme, Core Competencies in Cancer and Palliative Care Nursing, Basic Cardiac Life Support, Cytotoxic Drug Administration, Pharmacology and Drug Calculations, Health Assessment, Infection Control, Blood and Blood Products, Nursing Risk Management & The Diploma in Oncology / Cancer Nursing

We believe :

• Nursing is a universal need for all human beings and an essential service in health care.
• Nursing recognizes the uniqueness of each human being and aims to provide care which is holistic and individualized and covers physical, psychological, social, spiritual and cultural needs.
• Nursing is both an art and a science and works in collaboration with medicine and other health professionals.
• Nursing should be non-judgmental providing equal, high quality care underpinned by research.
• Nursing recognizes that patients with cancer and their families require on-going support and that nurses are in a unique position to provide encouragement, reassurance and hope through difficult times.
• Nursing recognizes that through communication, understanding and empathy patient's difficulties can be shared.
• Nursing promotes the patient's independence through education and ongoing support and discharge planning provides for the transition from hospital to community and home and is an integral part of the patient's plan of care.
• Nursing should act as the patient's advocate in appropriate situations, whilst recognizing social, cultural and religious norms.
• Nursing promotes the concept of life-long learning and nurses should continually strive to keep their knowledge base up-to-date and accept responsibility for their own actions and decision-making.
• Nursing recognizes that nurses need support to provide this care and aim to provide a caring supportive working environment.