Does anyone work on an oncology floor?

dudette10, MSN, RN · Sep 10, 2012

I don't know how much traffic the oncology forum gets, but if you go under the specialties tab, scroll down to "Oncology Nursing" and see if you can find what you are looking for there.

Palliative Care, DNP · Sep 10, 2012

I work on oncology and the nursing students do exactly the same things on our units as on medsurg. A lot of times you may even get better interviews because some of the patients just need to talk. Many will refuse students due to their diagnosis especially if they are on the downhill slide. The hospice/palliative patients are never assigned to students. Of course you also can not help with active chemo...

Aeterna, BSN, RN · Sep 11, 2012

I don't know how much traffic the oncology forum gets, but if you go under the specialties tab, scroll down to "Oncology Nursing" and see if you can find what you are looking for there.

Pretty much this.

Oncology in and of itself is a pretty diverse field. That being said, what is expected of you will vary depending on your instructor and what level you're at. Onco patients can be incredibly complex and some of them are unstable, even if they're walking around and chatting with people. It can be deceiving.

That being said, you will get an excellent chance to deal with:

- Interpreting lab values, particularly CBCs (complete blood counts) but you'll get plenty of others in there, too.

- IV meds

- Talking with patients, offering emotional support, etc.

- Pain management

Those things you will find in abundance on top of the usual things you'd find on a regular med-surg floor (i.e. accurate physical assessments, fluid balances, Foleys, PO meds, the occasional feeding tube or trach). However, I find that there are vastly less physical things to do, like bed baths and toileting and such. A lot of onco patients come in from home or from an out-patient clinic for treatment, so more of them are able to do things on their own. That isn't to say that you won't ever do a bed bath in oncology. There are some patients who are total care, too, but I find it's less common than on a general medicine floor.

Things that you probably won't be expected to do unless you're in your final year of school:

- Administration of blood products

- Accessing central lines (i.e. PICCs)

- Total parenteral nutrition (TPN), which you find occasionally

- The really unstable people

Things you definitely won't be doing:

- Chemotherapy

Despite the things you probably won't be doing, it'll be an excellent opportunity to follow the nurse, learn about what they're doing and why, and remember it for future reference.

Be aware that patients who have had chemotherapy are neutropenic. This means they basically have no immune system, no way of defending themselves against infection. If they are on antibiotics, they need to be given on time, never late. If a patient is neutropenic, DO NOT give Tylenol without asking the nurse first. If they spike a fever, notify the nurse immediately (look up "febrile neutropenia"). Also, never give a patient anything rectally if their platelets are low. Not heeding any of these is asking for trouble!

Good Morning, Gil · Sep 11, 2012

I work in ICU, so I do take care of many (usually end-stage) oncology patients. Not always, though..sometimes they just have cancer or it's in remission, but come in for other issues. But, we still do need to watch for neutropenic precautions or make sure we place them on these precautions. So....you'll definitely be using what you learn in many other areas of nursing. Unfortunately, cancer is not all that uncommon.

Hope you get some good responses from oncology nurses! Looks like there's a nice, informative one above. Best of luck!