Flynn Fellows Attend Prestigious 2025 APHON Conference
As part of its expanding program scope, the Flynn Foundation is increasing its emphasis on the ongoing professional development of its Fellowship program graduates. It recently sponsored five of its 2025 Flynn Fellows to attend the prominent national conference of the Association of Pediatric/Hematology Oncology Nurses (“APHON”), which was held in Providence, RI on September 24-27.
“It’s important to expose students and early career nurses to these prominent organizations to help them identify and access available resources, find mentors, and help reinforce their passion to become future oncology nurse leaders”, said Fred Flynn, Flynn Foundation President.
Erica DiCorpo, a 2025 Flynn Fellow at Boston Children’s from the University of Delaware, said, “Attending the conference was a great learning experience! I really enjoyed getting to meet and speak with nurses from all over the country as well as other Flynn Fellows! I also enjoyed the keynote speaker, Blyth Lord, founder of Courageous Parents Network, as her presentation on cancer patient family support systems was incredibly touching and serves as a reminder of why this job is so important! I also attended a very insightful presentation regarding professional boundaries and how to maintain them with patients, which I found to be extremely beneficial since it can be a difficult aspect of practice to navigate.”
Alexis Melanson, a 2025 Flynn Fellow at HopeHealth from the university of Rhode Island, said “The APHON conference was an incredibly rewarding opportunity to hear from leading nurses across the country and learn about their groundbreaking research aimed at advancing the field of pediatric oncology. Each presentation reinforced the importance of continuous learning and collaboration in order to provide the highest standard of care for our patients and their families. What struck me the most was the unwavering commitment of the community to improve clinical outcomes and advocate for the psychosocial well being of the patients and families.”
Bella Gomes, a 2025 Flynn Fellow at Hasbro Children’s from Sacred Heart University College, said, “It was an honor to attend the annual APHON conference. The experience not only deepened my knowledge of pediatric oncology but also reminded me why this work is so meaningful. Meeting and learning from so many dedicated professionals left me both inspired and grateful for the opportunity to be part of such a compassionate community.”
About the Flynn Foundation
The Flynn Foundation is the nation’s largest privately-funded Oncology Nursing development program. Its mission is to attract, inspire, and help professionally develop the next generation of Oncology Nurses, with the overarching goal of improving the future quality of care for cancer patients and their families. Since 2014, nearly 400 aspiring nurses have participated in the foundation’s unique summer Fellowship program and of the 345 in the workforce so far, over 220 Flynn Fellows are already working as Oncology Nurses. Its flagship Fellowship program is directly addressing the critical need for more and better skilled oncology nurses. In addition to providing its host hospitals with a valuable “talent pipeline” in this important specialty, this program paves the way for a very meaningful and impactful career pathway for it student nurses (aka “Flynn Fellows”) in the critical field of cancer care.
