Future-Proofing Cancer Nursing: The Importance of Person-Centered Fundamental Care

Nurses could be their “own worst enemies.” Resilient, adaptable, going the extra mile to fill gaps in the system and take on other roles when we see the need—although these qualities are commendable, if they start to become expected norms within a system or in an organization, then the consequences can be profoundly damaging. Compensating for system defects means that invariably our own jobs risk being compromised, and our priorities are at the mercy of other agendas that may or may not help us do the jobs we want or need to do. In the context of nursing workforce shortage and the ever-increasing demand of care due to the rising incidence of people diagnosed with cancer and prevalence of people living with cancer, protecting and strengthening nursing going into the future are of critical importance. As the first step, in this editorial, we call for actions from all cancer nurses to recommit ourselves to person-centered fundamental care (PCFC)—the core contribution we make to health, recovery, and care.