Pre-nursing student w/ oncology interest

Specialties Oncology

Published

Hello everyone. I am starting my pre-nursing school this Thursday. I have always had an interest in Oncology due to my grandmother's history of cancer. She passed due to cancer in 1996.

I am especially interested in Hospice since those are the wonderful people who aided us in her final months.

After pre-nursing school, I will be entering into a 2 year RN program. Will I be able to work in Hospice upon graduation? Any helpful hints?

I thank you in advance...ReiPie :)

p.s. I am 27 yrs old, married with 2 kids (10 yrs and 16 months old).

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Specializes in ICU/CCU (PCCN); Heme/Onc/BMT.

First off, I want to welcome you to this bulletin board! Good luck with your pre-nursing studies! :)

So often I read nurses entering into oncology nursing because of a personal experience (self and/or family member) with cancer. There's a lot to be said with such personal experience when entering this particular nursing specialty.

Regarding landing a job in Hospice as a new graduate RN. I would think that most hospice programs would want some kind of med/surg experience from those interested in working for them. Maybe there are Hospice programs that have a comprehensive orientation process which can accomdate new grads. My suggestion? Visit a hospice organization and ask. Also see if you can shadow a nurse to see if this is indeed a career choice for you. Finally, some hospice organizations have programs utilizing volunteers. Many, many, many moons ago, I used to be a volunteer for a hospice organization, providing home-health care and companionship for a young client dying from cancer. Involving yourself in such a way will most certainly gain you experience and an opportunity to see if hospice nursing is indeed right for you.

Good luck with your studies and keep us posted with your progress! :)

Ted

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