Any special training for pediatric hem/onc nursing?

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Aug 25, 2012

You don't get specialty training in school and very little in practicum as most facilities do NOT allow students to administer chemotherapy in any capacity. If you happen to get a preceptorship in pediatric oncology, you will at least get experience with central lines which nearly all patients in pediatric oncology have. If you are able to get hired into pediatric oncology after graduation, you will be trained on the job. APHON is the Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses... they offer a student membership and they publish the Journal of Pediatric Oncology Nursing.

allnurses Guide · Aug 25, 2012

It's a competitive position at most major hospitals. I wouldn't suspect too many new grads get jobs in pedi hem/onc; you will likely need to work a few years in other settings and potentially get your BSN prior to getting I to the field as well as becoming onc certified. You can join the ONS for cheap as a student.

Also, I knew many people who started school wanting pedi hem/onc but once they experienced it they went other directions.

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · Aug 25, 2012

Basically, you get a general education in your AS or BS program (there May be a few out there with a specific concentration, but there few and far between). School prepares you to be a generalist, and to pass NCLEX (which is mostly med/surg, with some ob, peds and psych).

I was a peds heme/onc nurse before I started teaching. I was a general peds nurse before that, and a med surg nurse before that. None were required; some of my colleagues were new grads. Experience In something else helps a lot, because heme/onc kids have a ton of complications that many of my new grad friends never had real experience with.

All of my training was on the job, with orientation and classes. Classes given through APON (which has a different name now, it's the organization that certifies you in peds oncology nursing). The orientation was extensive (I worked in a childrens hospital, and they also had a bone marrow transplant unit).

Unfortunately, in school, you'll get only a small taste of peds onc... If you're lucky. Leukemia, lymphoma, and maybe a bone cancer. You'll get adult oncology. Many of the concepts are the same: crazy, random, symptoms, diagnostics, chemo, radiation, transplant, neutropenia, and awful lifelong lingering effects. It's rewarding, but it's definitely not for everyone.