Leading Oncology Education With the FLASCO Rapid Integrations Program

The Rapid Integration Program, a training initiative for new physician’s assistants and nurse practitioners working in the field of oncology, is a Florida Society of Community Oncology (FLASCO) initiative that came from an ASCO meeting. Winston Tan, MD, of the Head and Neck Cancer Center at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, speaking during the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting, was in attendance at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting when the idea for a training program was first introduced.

Prior to the formation of the Rapid Integrations Program, Tans explains, there was a knowledge gap, and advanced practice providers (APPs) needed to have a better understanding of hematology/oncology basics, how to integrate into private or academic practices, communicating with patients, clinical trials, the business of oncology, and more. The need for more education led to a one-day course held twice per year (the Rapid Integrations Course) in the state of Florida during which experienced APPs speak before those that are new to the field. Eventually, FLASCO also formed the Making Strides Program, a similar initiative to the Rapid Integrations Program, which educates experienced clinicians on the same hematology/oncology topics to meet the need for seasoned APPs to learn the latest advances in the field.