Israel faces a large cancer burden, yet oncology clinical nurse specialists have not been established there. This study asks what nurses and physicians think such a role could contribute—and where its boundaries should be drawn. Israel has approximately two hundred thousand cancer patients, with some twenty-nine thousand new cases annually.

The oncology field involves complex clinical treatments and complicated psychosocial issues associated with patients and their family members. Countries throughout the world have developed medical support positions, such as clinical nurse specialists, as a strategy to meet healthcare system challenges.

In contrast, Israel has only three hundred fifty-eight clinical nurse specialists, working in fields such as supportive care, geriatrics, diabetes, surgery, premature infants, pain, rehabilitation, and policy and administration. In Israel’s healthcare system, barriers and disagreements about the definition, authority, and recognition of this role make it difficult to expand into other clinical areas.

Oncology nursing is a challenging and evolving profession that requires regular updating about the medical aspects of disease and the mental and social factors related to diagnosis and treatment. The oncology clinical nurse specialist can improve patients’ health outcomes and quality of life indicators, increase satisfaction with treatment, and increase involvement in disease management.

Integrating clinical nurse specialists also leads to decreased rates of hospitalization, mortality, and complications. The growing number of cancer patients, their multiple needs, the shortage of oncologists, and rapid clinical, organizational, and technological changes highlight the need to update oncology nurses’ clinical and managerial skills.

Although the literature shows that oncology clinical nurse specialists offer many advantages, the position has not yet been established in Israel. Implementation depends on characterizing the position, understanding its benefits for the healthcare system and patients, and understanding barriers at the planning stage.

The study therefore examines the potential contribution of oncology clinical nurse specialists through the eyes of medical and nursing professionals. The study used an exploratory qualitative design with semi-structured interviews.

The study was approved by the Ashkelon Academic College Ethics Committee under approval number twenty dash twenty twenty. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research checklist was used to report the study. Semi-structured in-depth interviews took place between August and October twenty twenty-one, after informed consent was obtained from twenty-four healthcare professionals from medical centers across Israel.

The study used purposeful sampling, a non-random sampling technique that uses specific criteria or purposes to select a sample. The in-depth interview guide was developed with oncology staff members and drew on literature reviews. Two oncology nurses and two physicians validated the guide using content validation to ensure that the questions were relevant to the study goals.

One oncology nurse pilot tested the guide to ensure a smooth interview flow and verify comprehension of the questions. The interviews collected perceptions about the role of nurses in cancer care and the need to develop oncology clinical nurse specialist training.

The interviews were transcribed by a professional and analyzed using thematic analysis based on grounded theory in ATLAS dot ti version eight software. Grounded Theory uses both inductive and deductive approaches to theory development.

The analysis combined deductive themes from the research topics and literature review with inductive themes that emerged from the data. The analysis involved reading the interviews, identifying ideas and categories, redefining central themes with encoded quotes and examples, and allocating relevant passages to content themes.

Five main themes emerged from the interviews: contribution to the healthcare system, contribution to the patient, drawing professional boundaries, additional responsibilities and authority, and the field’s readiness for a new position. A conceptual map of the main categories is presented in Figure one.

Nurses and physicians described multiple benefits of oncology clinical nurse specialists to the healthcare system. This result highlights how nurses and physicians describe multiple benefits of oncology clinical nurse specialists for the wider healthcare system, rather than treating the role as an isolated position.

For patients, interviewees described a response that is holistic and available, while reducing bureaucracy and waiting time. They considered integration into community healthcare settings particularly important for improving services and support for convalescents.

The nurse would maintain continuity during the transition between the hospital and the community. This could reduce the need for hospitalization for further treatment and alleviate the burden on physicians, so that most treatment for convalescents would occur in community settings.

Nurses suggested expanding the responsibilities of oncology clinical nurse specialists. That suggestion connects the role to a broader question about additional responsibilities and authority for oncology clinical nurse specialists.

The findings reveal a complex picture regarding the oncology clinical nurse specialist role and the need for expanding nurses’ authority. Delegating authority from physicians to nurses is described as an important element in nursing’s professionalization process. Expanding nurses’ authority is also described as a significant contributor to professional autonomy.

Studies describe positive attitudes among physicians and nurses toward expanding nurses’ authority in several areas because of a belief that it will improve quality of care. The findings are consistent with studies from around the world describing oncology clinical nurse specialists as important for improving cancer diagnosis and treatment services.

Those studies also associate the role with preventing hospitalization and emergency services, reducing hospitalizations, and issuing faster and more accurate therapeutic prescriptions. They describe oncology clinical nurse specialists as a reliable, accessible, and available source of information, as well as providers of psychosocial support for patients and their family members.

The sample is limited, but it is considered reasonable for exploratory studies using qualitative research methodology. The study included a wide range of stakeholders from various settings and regions in Israel to obtain responses from a broad and diverse part of the healthcare system.

The interviews were transcribed from Hebrew, and this may have increased the chances for variations in interpretation. To support methodological rigor and translation validity, the study used a standardized codebook, frequent meetings, shared and compared results, a pilot analysis, and an internal quality audit.

Multidisciplinary, coordinated, and holistic treatment may respond to the psychosocial and clinical issues facing oncology. The findings provide evidence for developing a new oncology clinical nurse specialist role in Israel because of potential benefits for nurses, physicians, patients, family members, and the healthcare system.

At the same time, the conclusions reveal a complex challenge. An in-depth exploration of the role’s boundaries and implementation, in full cooperation with oncologists and relevant professional unions, is needed to prevent unnecessary conflicts. Professional development training programs must create dialogue among management and key nursing and medical stakeholders so that patient benefits come before personal or status considerations.

The role can potentially affect quality of care, prevent hospitalizations, alleviate pressure and burden on physicians, and reduce healthcare system costs. The study recommends further research examining cancer patients’ attitudes toward this suggested new role in oncology nursing in Israel.

The interviews support developing oncology clinical nurse specialists in Israel, but they also show that success depends on clearly defined authority and cooperation among nurses, physicians, oncologists, and professional unions.