Cancer care is not only about choosing a treatment. Patients and families also need someone to help connect medical decisions, daily problems, and the long stretch after treatment. This study asks whether oncology nurses could fill that missing role in Israel.

Israel has approximately 200,000 cancer patients, with some 29,000 new cases annually. The oncology field involves complex clinical treatments and complicated psychosocial issues associated with patients and their family members.

In recent decades, countries throughout the world have developed medical support positions, such as clinical nurse specialists, as a strategy to meet the healthcare system’s challenges. Studies show that clinical nurse specialists can provide necessary medical care and offer an optimal response to patients’ needs.

But Israel has not yet established the position of an oncology clinical nurse specialist, unlike many countries around the world. The gap matters because cancer care is changing, while patients have multiple needs and oncologists are in short supply. This study examines the potential contribution of oncology clinical nurse specialists to the healthcare system, as seen through the eyes of medical and nursing professionals.

The researchers conducted an exploratory qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. The study was approved by the Ashkelon Academic College Ethics Committee, and the reporting followed a checklist designed for this kind of interview study.

Five main themes emerged from the interviews: contribution to the healthcare system, contribution to the patient, professional boundaries, additional responsibilities and authority, and the field’s readiness for a new position. The themes first ask what oncology clinical nurse specialists might contribute to the healthcare system and to patients receiving care.

They also ask where professional boundaries should sit, what additional responsibilities and authority the role could have, and whether the field is ready for it. Nurses and physicians described multiple benefits of oncology clinical nurse specialists to the healthcare system.

In the interviews, nurses and physicians described multiple benefits that oncology clinical nurse specialists could bring to the healthcare system as a whole. The sample is limited but is considered reasonable for exploratory studies using qualitative research methodology.

The study also included stakeholders from various settings and regions in Israel. The interviews were transcribed from Hebrew, and the researchers noted that this may have increased variations in interpretation despite efforts to ensure the validity of the translations.

The findings provide evidence about the need to develop a new role of oncology clinical nurse specialists in Israel because of its potential benefits for nurses, physicians, patients, family members, and the healthcare system as a whole. The role could potentially improve the quality of care, prevent hospitalizations, reduce pressure on physicians, and reduce costs for the healthcare system.

More nurses could also support, accompany, and follow up with cancer survivors in the community. But the boundaries of the role would need careful exploration, in full cooperation with oncologists and professional unions, to prevent unnecessary conflicts.

For patients, the promise is a more connected path through cancer care—but only if everyone keeps the benefits to patients above personal or status considerations. The interviews point toward a broader role for oncology nurses that could support patients, families, doctors, and the health system.

But it would need clear boundaries and cooperation, so the change improves care rather than creating conflict.