Beating cancer is a monumental and celebratory achievement, but often, the battle doesn’t end there. Many survivors live with serious complications, including heart disease, endocrine disorders, neurological disorders, infertility, and poor mental health. 

That's why the Childhood Cancer Survivorship Program wants to expand its service by recruiting a Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Nurse Specialist. 

What is this program about? 

The Cancer Survivorship Program at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick is regarded as a national leader in this field. It provides holistic care for children who have beaten cancer to support them with a smooth transition from being a patient back to being a kid. 

The program currently operates in collaboration with various departments, including neurology, endocrinology, radiation oncology, and social work, as well as with the award-winning Behavioural Sciences Unit (BSU) at UNSW. 

However, increased cancer survival rates mean there are more patients that the program needs to support, more requests for appointments, and longer waitlists for these patients.

How will a Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Nurse Specialist help address this need? 

To address this growing demand, a new nurse-led model of care is proposed to be provided by a Nurse Practitioner and Clinical Nurse Specialist. This is based on the outcome of a successful pilot program, which demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed approach.  

Adding these positions will introduce new approaches, such as clinics for low-risk patients led by the Clinical Nurse Specialist, which helps reduce waiting lists while still delivering expert nursing care tailored to individual patients and their ongoing survivorship journey. 

To learn more about this project and see the funding required, please contact the major gifts team for further information or how you can help.