Margaret (Peggy) Rosenzweig, PhD, FNP-BC, AOCNP®, FAAN, ONS Scholar in Residence, 2023–2026
San Antonio, TX, in May was a wonderful backdrop. The city was buzzing with warm weather and Spurs excitement, and more than 3,100 oncology nurses and healthcare professionals gathered at the Henry B. González Convention Center for the 51st Annual ONS Congress®. The theme was Momentum: Care in Motion, and it fit.
The Science Was Strong
The research environment at Congress fostered a palpable sense of curiosity and collaboration among researchers, clinical nurses, and nurse practitioners. A well-attended addition this year was the moderated poster sessions led by Christine Miaskowski, PhD, RN, FAAN and Dianne Von Ah, PhD, RN, FNAP, FAAN. Both sessions generated real enthusiasm about the research process. What struck me most was how so many of the research questions emerged directly from clinical experience. That grounding made the work immediately relatable across a broad audience.
The oral abstract and project presentations carried the same rigor. Questions from the floor were thoughtful and substantive; the investigators were ready for them and the sessions felt like meaningful discussions. Many of the questions were related to the “how”, for example there were questions about methodology , or instruments chosen to measure constructs. I left those sessions encouraged and reminded once again of why this work matters. Building the infrastructure for nurses to conduct research, compete for funding, disseminate findings, and see themselves as scientists remains among the most important investments our discipline and our organization can make.
Then there was the Quality-of-Life Lecture. Presented jointly by the Oncology Nursing Foundation and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the theatrical presentation Staging Loss addressed the cumulative grief that oncology nurses carry not only from patient deaths but also from the many other losses we witness as we walk with patients and families through the cancer journey. The moderators asked the audience for examples of loss. When these losses were shared, the content felt true to the joint experiences of the nurses in attendance. Overall, the experience was powerful and shared.
I also had the privilege of moderating a 90-minute panel session, Expanding the Lens: Diversity in Nursing Research Roles Across the United States. This was a session of PhD-prepared nurses representing clinical settings, academia, community health, and industry. The panelists including Ashley Bryant, PhD, RN-BC, OCN® (UNC Chapel Hill); Jennifer Majumdar, PhD, MSN, CRNA (Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing); Marci Nilsen, PhD, RN, CHPN, FAAN (University of Pittsburgh, Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery); Susan Storey, PhD, RN, AOCNS®, FCNS (Indiana University School of Nursing); Monica Wagner, PhD, RN (Case Western Reserve University); and Marni Tierno (PreciseDx). The panelists brought candor, depth, and genuine wisdom to the conversation about scope, preparation, and advancement in research roles The time we spent together was inspiring because these were not women who decided to be leaders in oncology nursing; they are leaders because they all, in their own way, did the work.
They worked to follow their dreams and vision and, at times, needed to forge roads that were not completely defined. Their goal was not to be successful – their goal was to improve cancer care for patients, families, and communities. The time we spent together was inspiring, and I am grateful to each of them.
What Three Years Have Given Me
When I became the ONS scholar-in-residence in 2023, I did not anticipate the depth of the intellectual community this role would open to me. The ONS scholarship community is genuinely inspiring: excited about generating new knowledge and committed to using it to improve the cancer experience for patients, families, and communities. All levels of oncology nurses embrace and genuinely want to be part of the knowledge development and utilization. I will carry that forward.
ONS gave me this platform, and I am grateful in ways I find genuinely difficult to articulate. I am especially grateful to Erica Fischer-Cartlidge, DNP, CNS, AOCNS®, EBP-C, ONS chief clinical officer, for her partnership, steadiness, and graciousness throughout my term. At the Oncology Nursing Foundation, Angie Stengel, MS, CAE, executive director, led with strength and vision and Michelle Kimbrel, programs coordinator, brought warmth and professionalism to our work. And to the colleagues, volunteers, and staff who make this organization function at every level, I am continually amazed by the care, thoughtfulness, and extraordinary commitment that comprises the everyday work of ONS.
Although I knew this at some level prior to this role, ONS, I now understand, is the accumulated investment of nurses who have chosen, year after year, to give back to a profession they love.
I am moving now into a new chapter in my career focused on community outreach and engagement. I am working in neighborhoods, systems, and the upstream conditions that shape who gets cancer, who can tolerate treatment, and who survives. But the core questions are the same ones that have always driven oncology nursing scholarship: What do our patients need, and how do we find those answers?
ONS has been part of my answer to those questions for my entire professional life. I leave this role grateful, enthusiastic about the future, and certain of one thing: This discipline is always in motion. And that is a good thing.