Date of Award

Spring 5-2023

Document Type

DNP Project

Project Team Faculty Member

Katie Wollerman

Project Team Faculty Member

Frank Lyerla

Keywords

Medical marijuana, Cannabis, Oncology, Cancer, Chemotherapy-induced nausea, Oncology-related symptoms

Abstract

Medical marijuana is used to reduce symptoms of medical conditions including cancer. Medical marijuana can increase quality of life among patients with cancer by treating symptoms such as pain, nausea, and vomiting. For providers to care for this population, they must understand the implications for treatment, pharmacological properties, and legal issues related to medical marijuana use.

Nurse practitioners at a cancer clinic in rural Illinois were unable to prescribe medical marijuana because they did not have the necessary knowledge about medical marijuana. The nurse practitioners at the clinic were requesting a “toolbox” containing medical marijuana resources such as uses for medical marijuana, benefits and risks of treatment, and ethical considerations. The nurse practitioners completed a pre-quiz to test their knowledge about medical marijuana. Then, the toolbox was presented to them, and they completed a post-quiz. The implementation of the toolbox immediately impacted the clinical site because it increased the knowledge of the nurse practitioners as evidenced by their post-test scores. Each nurse practitioner who attended the presentation stated they felt confident about prescribing medical marijuana. The long-term goal for this project was for the providers to share the toolbox with non-informed providers to increase evidence-based use of medical marijuana in the oncology clinic.

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