Do I need a Year of med/surg before going into oncology

1styear · Oct 28, 2005

I graduated in May and started working at Sloan Kettering in June(every floor is oncology). I would say that so far I'm very happy with my decision to start my career in oncology. My only advice is to pick a floor that has a lot of surgical patients so you get that exposure. My friend is on a hepato-bil floor and another is on neuro and they really only see late stage med patients which doesn't seem like a great place to start. Gyn or urology usually have a high % of surgical pts in my hospital and it's great experience caring for this more routine population in addition to learning the complexities involved with medical patients. Good luck in your decision.

AngelsRN · Nov 25, 2005

I graduated in May and started working at Sloan Kettering in June(every floor is oncology). I would say that so far I'm very happy with my decision to start my career in oncology. My only advice is to pick a floor that has a lot of surgical patients so you get that exposure. My friend is on a hepato-bil floor and another is on neuro and they really only see late stage med patients which doesn't seem like a great place to start. Gyn or urology usually have a high % of surgical pts in my hospital and it's great experience caring for this more routine population in addition to learning the complexities involved with medical patients. Good luck in your decision.

Hi - I saw your note -- I am very interested in working at Sloan one day in Pediatric Oncology - do they have positions often? I am graduating in 3 weeks and will stay at the hospital I currently work at to get some general experience and then want to get into Pediatric Oncology - any advice would be greatly appreciated.

doodlemom · Nov 25, 2005

Hello I am a graduate nurse and I am undecided where to start off at first in my career. I would like to go into oncology but will it be in my best interest to do a year in med/surg before going into oncology? Any advice will be highly appreciated.
Thanks in advance

I'm not in Oncology now but Oncology was my first hospital job. My experience in Oncology was varied and a great deal of our oncology patients were surgical patients - so it was like working on med surg but even more of a learning experience. I have since filled in on med surg floors and felt just as experienced as the med surg nurses. Good luck.

TweetiePieRN · Nov 25, 2005

I work on the Onc floor and started here after I got my nursing license June 2004. We get med, surg, tele, and onc pts. It's a great variety to be exposed to. So, in my experience I am getting the med/surg aspect of it too. I really enjoy the diversity of my job!! Good Luck!

ginampls · Dec 28, 2005

As a new grad I found a positon in an Oncology unit with a medical/surgical/hospice focus. Just the other day at lunch a co-worker with 20+ years of experience stated she is suprised how much she learns every day at work! Yes - a year of med/surg is a good start - if you can find a position that combines your interest in oncology as well - even better. Good luck to you!

mianlica · Jan 7, 2006

I think the first thing you should look for is a hospital with an excellent residency program for new graduates. In Connecticut I've seen programs that go from 6 weeks to 6 months (the longer, the better). That said, I started on a medical oncology floor with a mix of oncology and non-oncology patients. It had enough variety of med/surg patients to give me a good base but there was also enough oncology patients to get my feet wet with the more complicated cases. It's very difficult to give you a straight yes or no answer because it primarily depends on the unit and what type of support they'll give you as you start your career. Where I work now, a new grad would drown, because we just don't have the program or resources in place to properly orient new grads.

AvondaleGrad · Jan 7, 2006

Oncology nurses do something of everything. You would have no problem starting in the area. I did. Seven years later and I still want to be in the area. It's never boring.

SBradshaw · Jan 31, 2006

are you thinking of peds or adults? either way, i think you will get two answers on this (yes and no :chuckle ).
i never did adult, but i assume the concepts are similar to peds. in onc, a lot of the management is focused arodn the side effects of the meds (chemo) and what it does to the pt., esp. the liver and kidneys and heart. there are a lot of lab values to know (you actually need to know them- but of course the norms are always there in the computer), a lot of medication side effects and interaction issues. also recognizing s/s of renal, liver resp failure and the like.
having said all of that, i think it depends on you. i work in peds onc. some new grads work out, some do not (like in any specialty, i suppose).

nurse educate, i really want to go into pediatric oncology. did you have to specialize in anything or were you able to enter the field as a rn? i would appreciate any advice you can give me. i am currently a nursing student. i will be a gpn in may and i plan on getting my lpn. then i am continuing school next year so i can become a rn>

--stacey

BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN · Jan 31, 2006

i am currently a nursing student. i will be a gpn in may and i plan on getting my lpn. then i am continuing school next year so i can become a rn>

i'm a little confused about your road to becoming an rn, but whatever the case, you do not need anything more than an rn license (or lpn, depending on where you live, and what opportunities axsist for lpns). i personally had m/s and peds exp. before my peds onc/bmt position. but we have seen many new grads come through peds onc.

a good idea may be an summer externship, so you can see what really goes on from a nursing perspective. or if you have an internship at the end of your program, try to get into peds onc. interestingly, my best friend did that, and she decided thats where she did not want to be.:uhoh21: