| Sumario: | Significance & Background: Safe handling of hazardous drugs is essential in oncology nursing practice. Chemotherapy spills pose risks to both patients and staff if not managed appropriately. While most organizations provide chemotherapy spill kits and policies, staff often struggle to recall required supplies, the stepwise procedure, and documentation requirements during a high- stress event. Traditional didactic education may not adequately prepare nurses for these urgent scenarios. Interactive, competency-based strategies are needed to reinforce knowledge, improve confidence, and ensure compliance with safety standards. Purpose: The purpose of this project was to implement an interactive chemotherapy spill relay as an annual competency activity. The goal was to increase nurse engagement, validate knowledge of hazardous drug spill management, and ensure preparedness to respond effectively in real clinical situations. Interventions: The chemotherapy spill relay was designed with three stations: * Supply Identification - Nurses reviewed images of common supply room items and assembled a correct chemotherapy spill kit to confirm awareness of required protective and containment materials. * Spill Response Procedure - Participants placed the steps of hazardous drug spill management in proper order to demonstrate adherence to organizational policy and safety standards. * Incident Reporting - Using a grid, nurses identified essential data elements for documenting a hazardous drug spill while excluding unnecessary or inappropriate information. Following completion of the relay, nurses received a one-page educational flyer summarizing correct supplies, spill cleanup procedures, and reporting requirements for use as a quick-reference tool on their unit. Results: Over the course of one year, all inpatient oncology nurses at the medical center participated in the competency relay. Informal feedback from participants indicated the activity was engaging, memorable, and clarified areas of uncertainty in spill management. Educators observed improved accuracy in identifying supplies, sequencing cleanup steps, and documenting reports compared to prior years. Formal evaluation is ongoing through post-competency surveys and review of spill incident reports for completeness and accuracy. Discussion: The chemotherapy spill relay provided an innovative, interactive approach to validating hazardous drug competency. By combining experiential learning with immediate reinforcement, the activity enhanced engagement and promoted retention of critical safety procedures. This model is adaptable for other high-risk oncology competencies and supports organizational goals of staff preparedness and patient and staff safety. Future directions include expanding simulation-based activities and measuring long-term impact on spill response outcomes.
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