The Nurses Educational Initiative (NEI) is a program designed to affect the way nursing students view ovarian cancer. Students are given the opportunity to hear first hand from trained facilitators who are also ovarian cancer survivors. Our goal is to increase the number of health care providers who recognize the risk factors for ovarian cancer so that the disease is detected earlier.

The NEI program is in a unique position to help students to become more sensitive to the symptoms of and risk factors for ovarian cancer

While education may bring women to the doctor, it is only a first step. A nearly universal complaint among ovarian cancer patients is that early symptoms were ignored or not recognized by healthcare providers. Nursing professionals can make necessary connections that may result in early diagnosis, greatly improving chances for long-term survival. The NEI program uses both scientific material and actual patient accounts to train nursing students. This combination of material and delivery is an innovative step in training. The Nurses Educational Initiative will improve the quality of nursing care by coaching the nurses to ask the right questions. The NEI curriculum is offered during a single class period. A pre test is administered to determine what the students know about ovarian cancer. Next, a visual presentation is delivered containing the most recent statistics and scientific facts. Afterwards survivors share their cancer stories followed by a Q&A session. At the end of the presentations, an evaluation is administered to determine the program’s effectiveness. Students are given a take home bag with educational information to further reinforce the information.

This program has been successfully instituted at the University Of Central Florida College Of Nursing. According to Dr. Jean D’Meza Leuner PhD,RN,CNE, Dean and Professor of the UCF College of Nursing, “The College of Nursing at UCF is extremely pleased to be working with the Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Florida. The College of Nursing welcomes new partnerships and opportunities to influence health outcomes and this initiative is extremely important given the fact that ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of death among American women.”

For more information regarding this program or to sponsor this program please contact the OCAF office at 407-339-0024.