ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of a key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on advanced nursing practice in oncology, including nurses' roles and nurse-led clinics. It outlines current frameworks for oncology nursing, discussing nurses' roles, responsibilities and associated competencies, and illustrating changes to professional boundaries. The book then highlights the implications surrounding the nurses' roles, discusses potential tensions that may arise within or between professionals, and outlines strategies for success. It also talks about how such skills have changed the face of advanced nursing practice, and enabled nurses to extend clinical services to benefit patients. A step-by-step approach towards setting up and developing nurse-led clinics is provided, and the current professional and policy implications for nurse-led clinics, legal issues and nurse prescribing, are subsequently discussed. Written by nurses who have a great deal of experience within advanced nursing practice and nurse-led clinics, the book covers operational issues with examples from clinical practice in different settings.
