Hem/Onc nurse wanting a change...suggestions?

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Specializes in Hematology/Oncology.

hi again everyone...

i have been a nurse for 4.5 years in oncology (hematology/oncology/bmt). i currently work on the floor prn and am an oncology case manager full time. i am also trying to get a position in the er or icu to get some critical care experience. i was told by my recruiter that i had to apply to med/surg, but if i'm accepted into the air force i'm not sure if i want to stay in med/surg long. 1). is it easy to move into different nursing fields in the air force? 2). about how long does someone usually have to wait before transferring as well? 3). do you think i should try to get er/icu experience before getting in? 4). will it make a difference? 5). or should i just go back to working on the hem/onc floor full time?

i got so many good and helpful responses for my last question. i'm just so glad that there are nurses already in that are willing to take time out to answer our questions :redpinkhe.

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Specializes in Hematology/Oncology.

Hi...is there anyone out there to lend some good advice :confused:?

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

I would recommend speaking to a healthcare recruiter again for advice. With the recruiting climate changing often, it's difficult for anyone here (unless he/she is a recruiter!) to answer a lot of your questions. As far as the Army goes, they want a couple of years of experience in critical care environments before allowing an RN to specialize in an area; not sure how the AF does it. Also, certification (CEN, CCRN, etc.) is also seen as the gold standard for allowing Army nurses to specialize, although that is now always required. I think one thing you might want to consider is that if you come in as a med-surg nurse, you'll probably have a wider range of assignments to choose from, vs. coming in specialized and being pigeonholed for your entire career. Me, I wanted to be pigeonholed into the ER, so I'm fine with it. :D Good luck!

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Specializes in Hematology/Oncology.

Thanks Lunah for responding. I definitely am not sure that I want to be pigeonholed. I feel like I am already put into the category of Oncology Nurse since that is what I've been doing for the 4+ years since I've graduated. Don't get me wrong, I love oncology but I'm ready to get my feet wet in another area and see what else different nursing fields have to offer. In nursing school we were told that there are so many different fields of nursing and and it was easy to switch to different fields. But as I'm seeing (at least here in the civilian world) it really isn't that easy. I've been trying to gain ICU or ER experience for months now but I'm just being seen as an Oncology nurse. So I see you're point on coming in med-surg....maybe it won't be so bad. In the Army, how long do you normally have to stay in your position before switching to something else? And is it easy to transfer around once you are in?

Thanks again for the good information :D

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Hey, I'm a Hem/Onc nurse in the Army. I was unique in that I didn't get sent right to med/surg (they specialized me right off the bat, though our floor often doubles as a med/surg floor), which I understand they are doing now despite your history, at least at my MTF (Walter Reed Bethesda). Unless you go in with an identifier in your contract that guarantees a specialty attached to your AOC (your job title, essentially), you will be put on a med/surg floor.

As far as branching out, I just took the chemo class, will probably spend another 8 months or so on the Onc ward, and then go to a specialty-producing class of my choice (I'm gunning for the Tango course, which combines ER/ICU) and serve a year or two minimum in my specialty area. If you enter as a med/surg nurse (a 66H in AOC-land), you should have the opportunity to take a specialty course as well.

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Specializes in Hematology/Oncology.

Hey SoldierNurse22! So how did that work you not getting sent into med/surg? I didn't know that in the military they have an Hem/Onc specialty. What did you apply for when you first started the application process? Yeah here in the civilian world it's the same way...we get med/surg and med/onc on our floor all the time. So how do you go in with an identifier? I'm thinking maybe med/surg will be good for me in the beginning so I can get different experiences but I got out of going to med/surg after nursing school graduation and am not sure I want to do it now. But I don't want to be pigeonholed either.

I am chemotherapy certified already and will take my oncology nurse certification exam soon (wish me luck :eek:)! I would love to take a course like that as well (combining ICU/ER). That sounds like something I would be real interested in. I they have that same class or something similar when I get in. Do you think that Army and Air Force would have comparable classes (that's what I've started my paperwork in already)?

How do you like Hem/Onc in the military? Is it just like out here in civilian world? Hope you don't mind all my questions....

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Hey,

I was put in Hem/Onc when I arrived at the old Walter Reed. It wasn't uncommon there for people to be put on speciatly wards. Yes, most people went to med/surg wards, but a few of us were put on other units based on the needs of the Army (which is what it always boils down to). That said, I'm a new nurse and I didn't go in with an identifier at all because I had absolutely no experience. I just got put there, essentially. From what I understand, that's extremely rare. My guess is that it happened because WRAMC was in the middle of the merger and they needed folks on that ward, so new nurses or not, that's where they sent my friend and me.

It depends on the MTF, but the big military hospitals have a full range of services: OB/GYN, oncology, neurology, gastroenterology--you name it. Let's face it, soldiers have babies, get cancer, and get sick just like anyone else.

Chances are excellent that you'll be put on med/surg if you go Army. I don't know much about the Air Force and can't tell you anything about how their system works. I would assume that they have courses similar to the ones we have in the Army, but I dont know for sure. I have no idea what civilian nursing in a hem/onc setting is like as I have never worked hem/onc on the civilian side. All I can tell you is that if you don't want to get slanted toward one specialty or another, don't go in with an identifier. Go in as a regular 66H, do your time in med/surg and take a course when you get a chance.

Good luck on your Onc certification!

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Specializes in Hematology/Oncology.

Oh, that's cool that you were able to start off in a specialty. It's good to know that the big hospitals offer a variety of different specialties because you are right military personnel are like everyone else. I will definitely be taking you up on your advice regarding the identifier :D.

So how do you like being a nurse in the Army? Are there many things that you don't like about it?

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Nursing in the Army has its pros and cons just like any other job, and one can certainly choose to look at it that way--as just a job. But what I do is much more than that. The way I see it, I have the privilege of nursing the bravest of the brave and the honor of calling them my brothers and sisters.

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Specializes in Hematology/Oncology.

You're right every place has its pros and cons. I feel the same way you do about nursing, as a whole. What we do is more than just a job. Well, off I go to do more paperwork for this AF packet...

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