Bone Marrow transplant Unit

[lde]

Hi,

I'm a new grad RN with no experience. Nursing is a second career for me. I am trying to apply to a unit whose recruiting consultant told me there are openings on a Bone Marrow transplant unit.

I always wanted to go into ER and am trying there - but I guess I can't be too picky hence considering applying here as well. I get that this is a subset of Oncology Nursing - but could someone explain a little bit about the job of a Med Surg nurse on a Bone Marrow transplant unit? What skills can I hope to learn?

Thanks

Arvind

[DavidFR, BSN, MSN, RN]

Bone Marrow is pretty high dependency. There are often emergency sutuations (septic shock, DIC, major bleeds, lysis) so you will gain skills that will benefit you in emergency nursing later on.

You will bcome expert at transfusing! And your hygiene will be top of the form with all the protective isolation and neutropenic patients.

You'll gain experience with the more sophisticated forms of central venous access (port-a-caths, Hickmans, PICC lines etc.)

And you will certainly develop your communication skills.

It's a very rewarding and interesting speciality. You could do alot worse.

[lde]

Thank You David - that's helpful. I'll post in the other forums regarding the other roles that are open that I am considering applying to.

[lde]

Apologies for a follow-up post here when I could have asked this before, but I just made a post here as well, with a bit more background on why I am asking this.

Could you or anyone else be kind enough to take a look at that post as well? What I'm looking for is which one of these units [including bone marrow] would offer me the opportunity to perform the most types of hands-on care? I guess they all will, at some level, but which one is likely to give me the best experience if I did have a choice to make.

Thank You again.