Paula Rieger to Retire as CEO of ONS

The Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) announces that Paula Rieger, RN, MSN, CAE, FAAN, will retire as ONS’s chief executive officer (CEO) effective May 16, 2014. It was a personal decision to step away from full-time employment to spend more time with her family.

During Rieger’s seven-year tenure as CEO, ONS has made noteworthy strides in improving positive outcomes in patients with cancer through advancing the profession of oncology nursing. Among the successes under Rieger’s leadership was the completion of the development, testing, and validation of quality measures funded by the Breast Cancer Fund of the National Philanthropic Trust through the ONS Foundation. ONS’s Putting Evidence into Practice (PEP) resources served as the foundation for these measures, and they have grown to include over twenty symptoms experienced by patients with cancer.

Rieger also worked to position nurses as leaders in quality and safety in care. To this end, ONS partnered with the American Society of Clinical Oncology to develop joint Chemotherapy Safety Standards.  In 2014, ONS will launch the revision of its Chemotherapy/Biotherapy Training Course. The new course will be online, thus expanding its accessibility to nurses around the world, and also will feature a certificate of completion through the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation.

Since November 2006, Rieger has provided corporate continuity for the ONS association and its three subsidiaries, the Oncology Nursing Society Foundation, Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation, and ONS:Edge through management of the national headquarters and its staff of over 130. She has successfully navigated ONS through restructuring and to gain better financial stability. In 2013, ONS won the Alfred P. Sloan Award for Excellence in Workplace Effectiveness and Flexibility. In 2008, ONS achieved the CEO Gold Standard Seal and has earned reaccreditation every year since.

“Paula has done a remarkable job of leading our organization for the past seven years,” said ONS president Mary Gullatte, PhD, RN, ANP, BC, AOCN®, FAAN. “Her loyalty, commitment, and dedication to ONS is greatly appreciated and will be truly missed.”

ONS is a professional association of more than 35,000 members committed to promoting excellence in oncology nursing and the transformation of cancer care. Since 1975, ONS has provided a professional community for oncology nurses, developed evidence-based education programs and treatment information, and advocated for patient care, all in an effort to improve quality of life and outcomes for patients with cancer and their families. ONS was awarded Accreditation with Distinction as a provider of continuing nursing education, the highest recognition awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Accreditation Program. Learn more at www.ons.org.

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