Establishing an evidence base for the specialist breast nurse: a model for Australian breast cancer care.

The unmet needs of women with breast cancer have been extensively documented. In the United Kingdom, the introduction of the specialist breast nurse (SBN) role has been one strategy to improve the psychological wellbeing of women. This paper describes a SBN model of care and clinical pathway for Australian treatment settings, developed from systematic reviews of research and clinical practice guidelines for the treatment and psychosocial care of women with breast cancer. The model acknowledges the SBN as an integral member of the multi-disciplinary team with a key role to meet the emotional and informational needs of women diagnosed with breast cancer from the time of diagnosis through to follow up after treatment.