Objectives:This study aimed to develop a scale that can measure the role competency of oncology nurses during shared decision-making process.Methods:A total of 226 oncology nurses who actively provide direct care to patients from inpatient and outpatient oncology units in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest completed the online or mail survey. Exploratory factor analysis and parallel analysis showed the multidimensionality of the role competency scale on shared decision-making nurses.Results:The role competency scale on shared decision-making nurses revealed four dimensions: knowledge, attitudes, communication, and adaptability. The 22 items have excellent internal consistency with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.91. The four subscales also have adequate reliability with Cronbach’s alpha >0.70 as well as greater than 0.70 Spearman–Brown’s correlation coefficients in split-half reliability testing for each subscale.Conclusion:The new scale has the potential to be used as a clinical tool to assess the need for shared decision-making education and training in oncology nurses.

Multiple myeloma (MM), a neoplastic proliferation of plasma cells originating from the B-cell line, is associated with deleterious complications and poor outcomes. The failure of conventional combination chemotherapies to improve the overall survival of patients with MM has led to the use of high-dose chemotherapy supported by stem cell transplantation (SCT). Although several novel therapies have emerged since the late 1990s, their survival benefits are undetermined. Highdose chemotherapy with SCT provides better response rates compared to conventional chemotherapy and yields a trend toward greater survival benefits, especially with the use of a tandem (two successive) transplantation strategy. This article discusses standard SCT in patients with MM and some of the new transplantation strategies, including tandem autologous SCTs and reduced-intensity nonmyeloablative allogeneic SCT, and their implications for nursing.The role of high-dose chemotherapy supported by stem cell transplantation (SCT) as a safe and effective therapy for patients with multiple myeloma (MM) is well established (Singhal, 2002). Since the 1990s, myeloma treatment advances have been made in the transplantation arena, but major challenges still lie ahead to improve overall survival (Barlogie et al., 2004). Several transplantation-related strategies have emerged, including tandem (i.e., two successive) autologous SCTs (ASCTs), autologous followed by allogeneic SCT, nonmyeloablative allogeneic transplantation, and sequential ASCTs followed by Author Contact: Anna Liza Rodriguez, RN, BSN, OCN ® , can be reached at anrodrig@nmh.org, with copy to editor at CJONEditor@ons.org. No financial relationships to disclose. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptClin J Oncol Nurs. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2014 October 17. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript nonmyeloablative allogeneic transplantation, all in an effort to improve overall survival (Hari, Pasquini, & Vesole, 2006). Although several novel agents such as thalidomide, bortezomib, and lenalidomide have been effective in the treatment of MM, their impact on overall survival and quality of life in patients with MM is unclear . This article discusses standard SCT in patients with MM, some of the newer transplantation strategies (e.g., tandem ASCT, reduced-intensity nonmyeloablative allogeneic SCT) and their implications for nursing. Multiple Myeloma OverviewMM is the abnormal clonal proliferation of plasma cells originating from the B-cell line. An estimated 19,900 new myeloma cases and 10,790 deaths caused by the disease are anticipated in (Jemal et al., 2007. Many patients diagnosed with myeloma tend to be older (median age at diagnosis is 66), but some cases in patients younger than 40 have been reported (Kyle et al., 2003).MM is a neoplastic growth from the single clone of a plasma cell that became aberrant and proliferated in an uncontrolled pattern with eventual accumulation in the bone marrow. Myeloma cells produce abnormal and dysfuncti...