Bone Marrow Transplant and Nursing Care

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Jul 25, 2013

They know you're a new grad & won't be expecting you to have any in-depth knowledge of BMT. They know that you will have to be provided with a significant amount of training to achieve clinical competency in this unit. Your best approach would be to make sure that they know you are a 'happy learner' - enthusiastic about learning and have demonstrated success in this area (e.g., good grades, academic accomplishments, high ratings for clinical rotations, etc.)

Go ahead and brush up on the general theory & background for BMT; common diagnoses, possible complications, patient outcomes, etc. Ask questions about the training that will be provided - timeline for completion, etc. You could also ask about staffing ratios, schedules, amount of overtime, and things like that.

Good luck!!! Let us know how it goes for you.

Martha.Kierblewski · Aug 9, 2013

Had my interview, I thought it went well. She gave me a tour of the unit and I got interviewed by three staff nurses. She told me everything new grads get in regards to orientation and etc. and told me a nurse recruiter will call me next as she still has candidates to interview. I am so anxious!!!!! Thank you for all your help

sophie<3 · Aug 17, 2013

i was a BMT nurse for a year as my first nursing job. it is a very specialized area in oncology and you will learn so many things you did not touch on in nursing school. many diagnoses include AML, ALL, CLL, aplastic anemia, multiple myeloma, and similar malignancies. you should start doing your homework beforehand if you get hired, it will really help! many of these patients range in acuity from just being diagnosed to disease management and even hospice care. you will likely see a lot of very sick people and many will be hospitalized for weeks and even months. you will also see the same patients over and over..many return with neutropenic fever and rounds of chemo. you can expect to give chemo as well..and you will give it often. it was not uncommon for me to give chemo at least once per shift. i also performed allogenic stem cell transplants..essentially the nurse administers stem cells and provides follow-up care for the many weeks after the transplant. with allos the patients can get VERY VERY sick. you can have the patient who walked in the hospital become a total care patient and even die. it is a long hard process..these people can be the sickest in the hospital because their immune systems are compromised. you must be meticulous with sterility and hand washing because the smallest thing can make them septic. also, on my unit we would keep our patients on the floor as long as possible...if you have to transfer them to an ICU they are suseptible to all kinds of nasty things that our unit doesn't have. i really liked BMT..some of the nicest, appreciative patients you will ever have. i loved seeing someone very sick go home to their family but it was also very sad when we could not save some of the others. i got really close with some patients and it was hard to see them suffer but it was so rewarding to be apart of the biggest fight of their lives. i hope you get the job and love BMT! feel free to ask me any questions!

Martha.Kierblewski · Aug 20, 2013

Still haven't heard anything... I'm giving them until wed then I'm calling them!!! So stressed!!!!!! :bluecry1:

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Apr 18, 2014

Still haven't heard anything... I'm giving them until wed then I'm calling them!!! So stressed!!!!!!

Did you get the job?? :)