In the October 2008 issue “Dermatology Nursing”, Deborah L. Phelan and Maureen Heneghan explore how Nurses in dermatology settings are conducting high-quality screenings to identify suspicious lesions and non-melanoma skin cancer.

The authors surveyed over a hundred nurses at Dermatology Nurses’ Association (DNA) convention, which took place in Arlington February last year. The study aimed to gather knowledge about nurses’ skin cancer screening practices and their confidence in these practices. 

In a related press release from Medical News Today, the study was explained in further detail:

•    Respondents were divided into groups by highest education level (Group 1: LPN, RPN; Group 2: RN, undergraduate degree [other], associate degree, diploma, BSN; Group 3: NP, graduate degree nursing, graduate degree [other]).
•    Ninety-four percent of respondents in Group 1 said they perform total body skin exams (TBSEs), as did 75% of respondents in Group 2 and 86% of respondents in Group 3.
•    Phelan and Heneghan also report most nurses in each group said they were "confident" or "very confident" they could identify such skin cancers as melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and actinic keratosis.
•    Sixty-six percent of respondents use digital photography in their practice, and 40% of nurses who use any type of photography stated they used it to monitor patients with atypical moles. Seventy-eight percent of respondents have a dermatoscope in their practice, and 34% said they used the device themselves.