What do you love about working in oncology?

Onc.MA here-
-I of course love the success stories( the ones who are cured and living life to its fullest)
- I like that there are different age groups, not all old or young
- nothing like a pretty bald woman!

I graduate in December and started working on an oncology floor in January. There are many things I love about it but my firt choice would have been behavioral health. I wanted something very challenging out of school and I got it. I don't see myself being on the floor long term. After 12 months of employment we can transfer to a different unit and that's what I'm planning on doing.

I didn't "choose" oncology, so to speak, but it happened to be the unit for which I interviewed following school where I clicked with the manager and so started the job right after school.

The advantage of working oncology especially as a new grad is that you'll learn most everything you would have learned on a medical floor plus all the onc-related stuff. Cancer patients tend to have multi-system problems and can be complicated so you will definitely use your critical thinking. You will also get experience in accessing and managing central lines and multiple iv-infusions.

Good luck,

Julie in NYC

You ask what I love most???
MY PATIENTS!!!
Some days I wouldn't go to work if it weren't for the people I care for. I mean, these are people who have a totally different perspective on life!!
I love my patients, even when they are screaming bloody murder!! When they complain, they have a reason to complain!!!!
I couldn't see myself anywhere else, and I have tried to convince myself to leave since the beginning...finding valid reasons to leave! But the one thing that kept me still was my patients!

I agree with nextnursedani, the patients are truly different than in a typical med-surg setting. I work on a mixed unit: renal/medical/oncology and for the most part the oncology patients are more grateful, easier to talk to and get along with. It balances out all the less, um, pleasant people I have to take care of sometimes. You also build great relationships with people who come in frequently. It's never boring. I always feel rewarded even if things don't go very well. Good luck if you decide to give it a shot!

I absolutely agree. I love the patients. There is nothing like a cancer patient. They appriciate every little thing you do for them. I love them.
I am missing my oncology patients now because I am working hospice but it is good here too. I will go back to oncology.

I am currently a CNA on an oncology unit. I am working on my RN/BSN (junior year) and definitely plan on applying for a job there. I love it. My supervisor already told me she'd have a job waiting for me when I graduate! LOL

It is truly the patients that make it worthwhile. You are able to develop an ongoing relationship as they go through multiple cycles of chemo. Outcomes will differ but how the heart is touched is constant. I'll be on my Medical-Oncology unit two years in July and I don't think I would work on any other unit in the hospital.

I work on an onc/g-med floor and have been here for seven years.

I love working in oncology. Cancer is a disease that is debilitating to body, mind and spirit. Working with people who have it is extremely rewarding. Managing the physical symptons, providing emotional support, helping them deal with their illness is challenging and allows me to use all of my skills.

I don't know about the unit where you're looking at but on our unit most of the patients are terminal. The ones who recover rarely come to us. We often see people over a course of months or years, each time returning sicker than the last time. It's not always easy and it can be very hard to deal with. You have to be well grounded in your own beliefs about life and death to deal with seeing patients you've spent a good deal of time with leaving this world and helping them through this process. I don't think there's much more rewarding than doing that though.