ONS Connect - February 2008 - (Page 16) People to People Delegation Visits With South African Nurses aren Stanley, RN, MSN, AOCN ®, FAAN, ONS immediate past presi dent, and Laura Benson, RN, MS, ANP, AOCN ®, former secretary of the ONS Board of Directors, led an oncology nursing delegation to South Africa in September 2007. The delegates visited cancer care and hospice facilities, met with representa tives from volunteer groups focused on cancer care issues, and had a special session with the president of the Nation al Oncology Nursing Society of South Africa. At that session, Janice Phillips, PhD, RN, FAAN, delivered a presenta tion titled “Fear, Fatalism, and Silence” about breast cancer in African American women. The delegation spent a day visiting childhood cancer care sites, including the Childhood Cancer Foundation of South Africa houses, which offer par ents of children with cancer a place to K stay during treatment, much like the Ronald McDonald houses in the United States. The delegation was touched by the children’s bravery. The group also visited two children’s orphanages (see photo of ONS member Aimee Kemerer, RN, MSN, and a child from one of the orphan ages). An oncology tutor in Johan nesburg spoke to the delegates about her com mitment to pro viding oncology education to nursing stu dents with very limited resources. One of the delegates donated a printer so that the tutor could print materials for her students. The group toured the township of Soweto, home to thousands of South Africans; visited a private hospital with inpatient and outpatient cancer care fa cilities; and met with a private citizen who organized a can cer survivors group for the country. On behalf of ONS, Stanley and Ben son gave an ONS membership to each facility or organiza tion the delegates encountered. Given the issues in the South African postal service, electronic access to ONS publications is highly valued. The delegates were profoundly affected by the experience and plan to stay in touch with the individuals to of fer encouragement and support. ✱ ONS Leadership Development Institute Travels Abroad I n December 2007, ONS teamed with the Israeli Oncology Nursing Society and the Middle East Cancer Consortium to bring the ONS Lead ership Development In stitute curriculum to Ein Gedi, Israel. Fortyfour nurses attended from the Palestinian Authority, Cyprus, Turkey, Israel, and Jordan. This pilot program was developed to achieve shared knowledge, under standing, and respect among oncology nurses in countries of vastly different belief structures and to facilitate talent and leadership development in cancer centers and hospitals across the Middle East. For photos and testimonials, visit http://ldi.vc.ons.org, or read more about the experience in ONS Connect’s newest online feature, RE: Connect, in the Pub lications area of www.ons.org. ✱ 16 ONS CONNECT February 2008 http://ldi.vc.ons.org http://www.ons.org
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