Clinical Practice Education Specialist (CPES) - Chemotherapy / Infusions

City of Hope•Irvine, CA

75d

About The Position

The Clinical Practice Education Specialist (CPES) serves as an expert resource, educator, and change agent supporting nursing staff’s professional development and clinical practice. The role plans, implements, and evaluates evidence-based educational programs and clinical competency activities to enhance patient outcomes, nursing practice, and quality of care. The specialist may float to and cover other departments as needed. The CPES supports nursing staff who provide chemotherapy, immunotherapy, biotherapy, targeted therapy, cellular therapies, and other cancer-directed treatments across infusion and treatment settings. The role includes identifying education needs and practice gaps, delivering instruction and clinical mentorship, serving as a subject matter expert in chemotherapy and infusion practice, and partnering with interdisciplinary teams to advance patient safety, quality improvement, evidence-based practice, and compliance with regulatory and accreditation standards. The position also supports clinical practice improvement, the integration of current evidence and emerging therapies, the development of clinical guidelines and educational resources, specialty certification and continuing learning, simulation and emergency preparedness training, and evaluation of education and competency initiatives. Participation in scholarly and professional activities is expected as appropriate.

Requirements

Master’s degree in Nursing.
Current California RN license.
Minimum of three years of oncology experience or applicable experience in the area of specialty.
Specialty Nursing Certification, ANCC Magnet-recognized certifications as updated in the ANCC Demographic Data Collection Tool® (DDCT).

Nice To Haves

Minimum of one year in education (preferred).

Responsibilities

Develop, implement, coordinate, and evaluate orientation, onboarding, competency validation, and ongoing professional development programs for nursing staff providing cancer-directed treatments in infusion and treatment settings.
Identify clinical education needs and practice gaps through observation, competency assessments, quality and safety data, adverse event trends, treatment outcomes, regulatory requirements, and collaboration with nursing leadership and frontline staff.
Design and deliver evidence-based education through in-services, workshops, case-based learning, simulation, skills validation, and other learning modalities.
Provide clinical mentorship, coaching, and bedside education to strengthen clinical judgment, assessment skills, critical thinking, treatment management, and professional growth.
Serve as a subject matter expert and clinical resource for chemotherapy and infusion practice, including treatment administration, vascular access, medication safety, hazardous drug handling, infusion and hypersensitivity reactions, extravasation, oncologic emergencies, and symptom and toxicity management.
Partner with nursing leadership, medical oncology, pharmacy, advanced practice providers, physicians, and other interdisciplinary teams to advance patient safety, quality improvement, evidence-based practice, and adherence to regulatory and accreditation standards.
Lead or support clinical practice improvement initiatives focused on safe treatment delivery, prevention and management of complications, patient experience, operational effectiveness, staff competency, and quality outcomes.
Support the integration of current evidence, emerging cancer therapies, new treatment modalities, technology, and evolving professional standards into clinical practice, education, competency requirements, and patient care processes.
Collaborate in developing, reviewing, revising, implementing, and disseminating evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, chemotherapy and infusion protocols, policies, procedures, competency tools, and educational resources.
Promote specialty certification, continuing education, and lifelong learning among chemotherapy and infusion nursing staff.
Develop and facilitate simulation-based education, mock codes, emergency preparedness training, and high-risk/low-frequency event education related to infusion reactions, anaphylaxis, extravasation, clinical deterioration, and other oncology treatment emergencies.
Evaluate educational programs and competency initiatives using learner performance, clinical outcomes, quality and safety metrics, and staff feedback; use findings to drive continuous improvement.
Participate, as appropriate, in scholarly and professional activities such as evidence-based practice, quality improvement, research, conference presentations, professional education, and publication or dissemination of clinical and educational outcomes.
Float to and cover other departments as needed.