The aim of study was to identify the learning needs of certified nurse specialists (CNSs) in cancer nursing and to obtain data to inform their learning support in cancer genomics medicine.

We conducted an open-ended questionnaire survey of 464 CNSs in cancer nursing working in designated cancer hospitals. The survey items assessed subject background characteristics and learning needs for cancer genomics medicine. We used descriptive statistics and performed content analysis using JMP14.0 software.

Of the 464 CNSs in cancer nursing surveyed, 233 returned valid responses (valid response rate: 50.2%). Of these, 60% of CNSs in cancer nursing demonstrated learning needs for all survey items. In addition, 80% of CNSs in cancer nursing had learning needs for “support for complex and difficult to solve nursing problems” and “decision support for genomics in cancer medicine.” Of the target participants, the CNSs in cancer nursing who work at a hospital designated for cancer genomics medicine had learning needs that included “multidisciplinary collaboration” and “assessment method for report the results of the genomic testing”.

In conclusion, we suggest that there is a need for learning support to help CNSs in cancer nursing to play a role to the unique and emerging field of cancer genomics medicine.