Importance of Oral Cancer Screenings by Nurse Practitioners
Importance of Oral Cancer Screenings by Nurse Practitioners
One person dies every hour from oral cancer complications, but if nurse practitioners were proficient in providing a 5-minute, comprehensive oral screening examination during routine care, many cases could be prevented or detected early. This training may decrease the incidence and prevalence of oral cancer and increase professional and public awareness. This procedure should be a shared medical and dental responsibility for patients that have medical coverage but no dental insurance. Nurse practitioners are focused on health promotion and prevention, so they are the ideal practitioner to oversee nurses working with the new requirements for long-term care.
Someone loses their life to oral cancer every hour of every day in the United States. Oral cancer is a common form of cancer in America, with over 30,000 patients diagnosed each year, and is blamed for 8,000 deaths annually; there is only a 30% 5-year survival rate. This figure may be because of the lack of early detection, but the survival rate is up to 90% when the diagnosis is made while the patient is still Stage I. The disappointing fact is that the survival rate for oral cancer has not improved in the past 50 years, perhaps because there have not been any major changes in the screening process.
Nurse practitioners (NPs) are the ideal medical practitioner to complete a 5-minute oral cancer examination of their adult patients initially and annually and to oversee that nurses working in long-term care (LTC) perform periodic screenings on residents. On October 1, 2010, the new MDS version 3.0 became federally mandated for clinical assessment in LTC facilities. The document contains 26 sections labeled A thru Z. Under Section L, letter C, the oral and dental status area of the document states that the nurse is to note any abnormal mouth tissue, such as ulcers, masses, or oral lesions. Therefore, it is now a primary duty of the LTC NP and nurse to complete this oral assessment because this document will also be evaluated by state surveyors and accrediting agencies.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
One person dies every hour from oral cancer complications, but if nurse practitioners were proficient in providing a 5-minute, comprehensive oral screening examination during routine care, many cases could be prevented or detected early. This training may decrease the incidence and prevalence of oral cancer and increase professional and public awareness. This procedure should be a shared medical and dental responsibility for patients that have medical coverage but no dental insurance. Nurse practitioners are focused on health promotion and prevention, so they are the ideal practitioner to oversee nurses working with the new requirements for long-term care.
Introduction
Someone loses their life to oral cancer every hour of every day in the United States. Oral cancer is a common form of cancer in America, with over 30,000 patients diagnosed each year, and is blamed for 8,000 deaths annually; there is only a 30% 5-year survival rate. This figure may be because of the lack of early detection, but the survival rate is up to 90% when the diagnosis is made while the patient is still Stage I. The disappointing fact is that the survival rate for oral cancer has not improved in the past 50 years, perhaps because there have not been any major changes in the screening process.
Nurse practitioners (NPs) are the ideal medical practitioner to complete a 5-minute oral cancer examination of their adult patients initially and annually and to oversee that nurses working in long-term care (LTC) perform periodic screenings on residents. On October 1, 2010, the new MDS version 3.0 became federally mandated for clinical assessment in LTC facilities. The document contains 26 sections labeled A thru Z. Under Section L, letter C, the oral and dental status area of the document states that the nurse is to note any abnormal mouth tissue, such as ulcers, masses, or oral lesions. Therefore, it is now a primary duty of the LTC NP and nurse to complete this oral assessment because this document will also be evaluated by state surveyors and accrediting agencies.
