Abstract
Background: The Advanced Practitioner Society for Hematology and Oncology (APSHO) conducted a survey of its members over a 6 week period in the summer of 2014 to describe practice patterns. Significance of the Problem: Cancer survivors are projected to exceed 19 million by 2024. The oncology workforce is projected to fall short of the expected demand, yet with increasing complexity in providing oncology care. Integration of advanced practitioners (AP) in oncology using collaborative practice models is proposed as an ideal solution to the challenge of providing care to the growing cancer population across multiple settings given an anticipated shortfall of practicing hematologists and oncologists. Results: One-hundred ninety two responses with representation from 37 of 50 states were completed. The majority of respondents (56%) reported more than 10 years of oncology experience. Of these, 22% reported more than 20 years of experience. Twenty-three percent of respondents reported less than 5 years of experience. Average hours worked by APs in oncology was more than 40 hours per week (63%), with a minority working part-time (13% working 30 hours or less; 25% working 30-40 hours per week). The high numbers of hours work reflect the complexity of oncology care and the high numbers of oncology patients requiring care. The most common practice setting for APs in this survey was outpatient oncology settings with no bone marrow transplant coverage (76%). Models of care included blended models (39%, n=68) and independent visits (31%, n= 53), and practice within an interdisciplinary team (18%, n=32). This is not surprising given the highly experienced workforce represented in this study. Sixty-eight percent of APs in this survey worked with 1–5 physicians. Limitations: It is uncertain if these data represent the AP in oncology workforce as a whole, or represent APs that are motivated to engage in APSHO as a new organization focused on the AP in oncology and collaborative practice. Conclusions: advanced practitioners in oncology represent a diverse group of health care providers poised to fill the anticipated oncology workforce shortfall. Using a collaborative practice model, hematologists and oncologists together with APs in oncology have the opportunity to develop programs that will effectively address the complex needs of the cancer patient and their caregivers across the continuum of care. Organized programs to address educational and training needs of the APs will be necessary. Continued collaborative efforts among professional organizations that represent cancer providers
is imperative.
