Author(s):
The JADPRO Live 2025 conference convened thousands of APPs in hematology and oncology for 4 days of clinical education, collaboration, and professional growth.
The JADPRO Live 2025 conference, held October 23-26 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, MD, convened thousands of advanced practice providers (APPs) in hematology and oncology for 4 days of clinical education, collaboration, and professional growth. Hosted by the Advanced Practitioner Society for Hematology and Oncology (APSHO), this year’s meeting was centered on the theme United in Care, emphasizing the essential role of APPs in advancing quality cancer care and shaping the future of oncology practice.
The Association of Cancer Care Centers (ACCC) proudly joined this year’s meeting, represented by 2025-2026 ACCC President Una Hopkins, DNP, MSN, FNP-BC, NE-BC, RN, FACCC, as a featured speaker in the opening general session and by Jonathan Catrona, MS, RPA-C, who presented a poster spotlighting national efforts to optimize APP integration in oncology, an initiative led by the Oncology State Societies representing Colorado, Iowa, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, and Washington.
The conference opened with a lively and collaborative panel discussion titled Optimizing the AP Role Through Society Collaborations. Moderated by Wendy H. Vogel, MSN, FNP, AOCNP®, FAPO, executive director of APSHO, the session featured representatives from 5 leading professional societies:
Together, these leaders discussed strategies to elevate the advanced practice workforce through intersociety collaboration, advocacy, and education.
Representing ACCC, Dr. Hopkins emphasized the power of patient stories in driving systemic change. “All of us in this room have stories from patients,” she told the audience. “And if we tell their stories, we’re elevating their voice…If we bring the patient’s voice to the government, that’s what will really resonate with them.”
Dr. Hopkins’ remarks echoed her 2025-2026 ACCC Presidential Theme, Designing Oncology Care to Meet the Needs of a Growing Patient Population. This initiative centers on 4 pillars: workforce empowerment, capacity building at scale, technology as a workforce multiplier, and optimized oncology service-line structures. In highlighting these priorities, Dr. Hopkins has called for innovative strategies to equip cancer programs to meet rising demand amid workforce shortages. At JADPRO Live, her message resonated strongly with the advanced practitioner community, underscoring that empowering APPs and reimagining care delivery models are essential to ensuring equitable, sustainable, and patient-centered cancer care and research efforts nationwide.
Panelists shared personal experiences that highlighted both challenges and opportunities for advanced practitioners. Guest speaker Christa Braun-Inglis, DNP, MS, APRN, FNP-BC, AOCNP®, FAPO, spoke about efforts to publish a peer-reviewed manuscript in a high-impact journal on the role of APPs in oncology clinical research—a submission that was rejected because the societies involved were deemed “loosely affiliated.” She used this example to illustrate the advocacy strength of a unified professional voice across organizations.
Fellow panelist Dr. Krapfel encouraged APPs to proactively pursue opportunities in research and leadership at their home institutions. She urged audience members to remind themselves of their capacity to take on the principal investigator (PI) role: “I am educated, I can do this,” she said. “Give me the title, give me the opportunity to be a PI.”
This sentiment echoed the session’s broader theme: collaboration among professional societies can help dismantle institutional and systemic barriers, empower APPs to practice at the top of their license, and foster an environment where advanced practitioners are recognized as leaders in clinical research and patient advocacy.
In addition to ACCC’s participation in the opening session, Catrona, of New York Cancer & Blood Specialists, presented a poster codeveloped with the Oncology State Societies titled Optimizing APP Integration in Oncology: Insights From a Multistate Initiative.
The poster summarized findings from a 2025 national project led by 6 state oncology societies that convened APP focus groups and key informant interviews to better understand how advanced practitioners are integrated within diverse cancer care teams. These discussions explored the nuances of state-specific scope-of-practice laws, the availability of oncology-specific training, and the organizational structures that either support or hinder APPs in practicing at the top of their license.
Four recurring barriers emerged from these sessions:
To address these challenges, the initiative developed an APP resource library featuring curated education programs, onboarding tools, and professional development resources. Additionally, 3 national webinars showcased exemplary models for APP onboarding, retention, and leadership development.
Feedback from these webinars underscored several key insights: the pressing need for oncology-specific education for newly hired APPs, the importance of justifying nonbillable but high-value work to administrative leadership, and the value of continued professional development to expand APPs’ contributions across both clinical and leadership domains.
As Catrona noted, addressing these systemic barriers requires collaboration among APPs, physicians, cancer program administrators, and policymakers. This sentiment is closely aligned with ACCC’s longstanding commitment to fostering multidisciplinary, team-based approaches to cancer care.
ACCC’s presence at JADPRO Live 2025 reaffirmed its dedication to supporting advanced practitioners through education, collaboration, and advocacy. By amplifying the collective voice of the oncology APP community, ACCC continues to promote a health care environment where every team member is empowered to contribute fully to high-quality, patient-centered cancer care.
At the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting, the Louisiana Oncology Society received the ASCO Jeffrey C Ward Affiliate Advocacy Award for advancing critical advocacy priorities that have translated into meaningful legislative victories. The Iowa Oncology Society and Washington State Medical Oncology Society were also recognized for their advocacy efforts in 2025 at the meeting, receiving second place awards.
