Methods of Teaching Nurses Intravenous Systemic Anticancer Therapy Administration: A Scoping Review.

Abstract

Objectives: The safe administration of intravenous (IV) systemic anticancer therapy (SACT) is a specialized and complex skill due to potential exposure to chemotoxic agents. Inadvertent exposure among millions receiving IV SACT annually may harm both patients and nurses. Identifying the literature's scope and gaps in teaching this clinical treatment is essential. The objective of this scoping review was to identify published literature on educational methods for teaching nurses the safe administration of IV SACT.

Methods: We conducted a JBI-guided scoping review. With a research librarian's assistance, we searched CINAHL, Embase (OVID), Medline (OVID), SCOPUS, and Google Scholar for grey literature. We included studies published between 2010-2023, in the English language, that examined or reported methods of teaching nurses to administer IV SACT safely. Extracted data was presented narratively using the patterns, advances, gaps, evidence for practice and research recommendations (PAGER) framework.

Results: Of 6,820 studies retrieved, 3,725 were screened, resulting in 222 full-text reviews with 20 included for data extraction. Four patterns emerged: education and training methods, interdisciplinary collaboration, global differences, and lack of long-term follow-up and re-validation of educational strategies employed. Teaching methods vary from traditional lectures and clinical practice to simulation, virtual reality, and smartphone applications. However, research, particularly in Europe, is limited, with no European studies cited in the literature.

Conclusions: The absence of randomized controlled trials on simulation-based IV SACT training presents an opportunity to improve oncology nursing education and inform evidence-based practice globally.

Implications for nursing practice: More interventional research is required, including meta-analyses and studies on emerging technologies such as simulation and artificial intelligence, to improve patient and provider safety. Such research could enhance patient safety by bridging the gap between clinical practice and skills training.