Melanoma & Skin Cancer Nurses Organisation (MSCNO) Inaugural Summit
17 April 2023
Tamara Dawson, Hayley Burridge & Donna Milne
3 min read
If outcomes indicate the success of a Summit, then the Inaugural Summit for the Melanoma & Skin Cancer Nurses Organisation (MSCNO) was a gold medal winner.
Not only did MSCAN and MSCNO agree on a super charged Strategy for the coming year, but we agreed to deliver the Nurse2Nurse Hub: By nurses, for nurses – an easily accessible, online hub of information and support for nurses in Australia currently working in skin cancer or looking to develop their skills in skin cancer.
The Summit involved the MSCAN team and the MSCNO Steering Committee – a wonderful group of melanoma and skin cancer nurses working in leading hospitals across Australia. While each State/Territory and hospital utilises a different model of care for patients, the nurses all work incredibly hard for people affected by a melanoma or non-melanoma skin cancer diagnosis to deliver:
- Patient education
- Psychological support
- Clinical support
- Survivorship planning
Our agreed Strategy draws on MSCNO’s powerhouse of knowledge and unmatched experience, to improve communication and the sharing of knowledge with all nurses working in skin cancer in Australia. The Strategy includes priorities to involve our colleagues in outer metro, rural and regional Australia, because skin cancer does not discriminate by postcode.
The Inaugural MSCNO Summit was an exciting next step for the MSCNO, following the Report we commissioned in early 2022: “Connecting Nurses to Nurses: A model for best practice care of skin cancer in Australia”. The recommendations from the Report formed the basis for our Agenda for the MSCNO Summit. We were delighted to have Assistant Health Minister, the Hon. Ged Kearney MP, launch the report and officially open the Summit. The Report can be viewed here.
The co-Chairs of MSCNO, Hayley Burridge and Donna Milne, explain more about MSCNO and the Nurse2Nurse Hub: By nurses, for nurses.
The Melanoma and Skin Cancer Nurses Organisation (MSCNO) started to take shape in 2017, when we could see the growing need for more information, resources and support for nurses working in melanoma and skin cancer across Australia.
At the time, the introduction of new immunotherapy and targeted therapy treatments was dramatically shifting the landscape for people affected by a later-stage skin cancer diagnosis and the new treatments were associated with side effects that are tricky to manage. Once these new medicines were being given as part of standard care (beyond clinical trials and outside major treatment centres), we started to plan and build the MSCNO.
We saw the need for melanoma and skin cancer nurses to understand this new treatment landscape along the skin cancer continuum – from prevention, early detection and diagnosis – to ensure quality patient care.
The MSCNO is focused on delivering information, resources and education by nurses to nurses. We’ll bring in various experts as required, and all content will be curated by nurses. Our goal is to reach all nurses working in skin cancer in Australia.
In 2022, we launched our first nurse education modules at the Cancer Nurses Society of Australia (CNSA). The modules have been very successful and have received fabulous feedback. We’re now looking to build on this further with the Nurse2Nurse Hub: By nurses, for nurses.
The Nurse2Nurse Hub will launch later in 2023 with a limited time offering of free membership to nurses working in skin cancer or looking to develop their skills in the field.
The Nurse2Nurse Hub will:
- feature our existing nurse education modules
- signpost to a broad range of evidence-based resources for nurses
- signpost to helpful resources for nurses to provide to patients
- detail annual travel awards for teaching and learning that Members will be able to apply for, acknowledging the importance of having Australia’s nurses skilled and equipped with the latest, evidence-based information
- include a range of other exciting things – to be revealed!
MSCNO would like to thank MSCAN for hosting our Inaugural Summit in the days leading up to the Australasian Melanoma Conference in Brisbane. It was a fantastic opportunity to meet face-to-face and create a meaningful Strategy to support the excellent work of MSCNO and MSCAN. We look forward to catching up again at the CNSA Congress in a few months!
