Robin B. Atkins, RN, is a registered nurse with specialty certification in oncology nursing (OCN®). She is currently working as a symptom management oncology triage nurse at Virginia Oncology Associates. In addition to critically assessing patient symptoms by phone, she educates patients and families on how to recognize and minimize toxicities, maintain and improve nutritional sustenance and general health, cope with uncertainty, and navigate unexpected experiences (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic). Helping patients understand complex oncology concepts and multimodality treatment options while meeting meaningful life goals along the cancer care trajectory and teaching them how to advocate for themselves or loved ones, are valued aspects of the holistic triage services Mrs. Atkins provides. Her top priorities include dedicated follow-up on response to symptom management strategies to ensure successful treatment outcomes for patients and reduction of unnecessary emergency department visits and hospitalizations by patients.
Robin Atkins is a veteran outpatient medical hematology-oncology nurse of 35 years, certified in the specialty through the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS). She graduated from Riverside School of Professional Nursing with honors in 1985. Her clinical interests include patient and staff education, professional development, and various volunteer roles within the ONS including being a member of the Oncology Certified Nurse Test Development Committee and being a peer editor/reviewer for the ONS Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing (CJON) and a chapter in the upcoming 4th edition of the ONS Safe Handling of Hazardous Drugs. Her additional volunteer roles within ACCC are priorities for her as well including authoring the ACCCBuzz Blog post Notes on Nursing, serving on various steering committees including ACCC Communication and ACCC Small Cell Lung Cancer committees. Lastly, she served as a career mentor twice with the American Nurses Association Mentorship program since 2016. She enjoys process improvement projects, coordinating care, and patient education. She lives in Gloucester County, VA with her husband of 35 years and two cats Gracie and Annie. They spend a lot of time off the grid camping and canoeing in the mountains of Virginia. Robin enjoys singing, binge watching British detective series, and cooking for her family.
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