Med-Surg/Oncology, please enlighten me.

[Wheaties]

Hi, been a nurse for over 5 years. Been off work for nearly 18 months. worked in mixed med-surg/tele unit.

There's a med-surg & oncology unit (combined) position. i don't know anything about med-surg/oncology, is there anything I should know as far as the workflow of taking care of oncology patients? i'm thinking i would have to administer chemo meds of which I don't know anything about. can someone enlighten me

[SHGR, MSN, RN, CNS]

That's something to ask about, should you apply and be granted an interview. Typically chemo is only administered by nurses who have undergone additional training in chemotherapeutic agents. Sometimes on off-shifts (like if chemo was administered on days, and you work nights) you might care for someone on chemo precautions.

[dream'n, BSN, RN]

After some experience on the floor, you will be scheduled to complete the Chemotherapy/Biotherapy certification through ONS. Prior to the certification, you will not be able to administer chemotherapy on your own. You will generally start out with mostly Med/Surg and the easier pre/post chemotherapy patients. Over time you will become more knowledgeable and after getting certified, you will be able to care for the more complex cancer patients and administer the chemotherapy yourself. You will probably deal mostly with Leukemia and Lymphoma patients, with a smattering of Multiple Myeloma. Those tend to be the most common cancers hospitalized for chemotherapy. You will have some cancer patients for months at a time on the floor or those that come frequently for a week or two over a long span of time for several rounds of treatment. This will allow you to really get to know the cancer patient, their families, and their needs very well. You will learn about Nadir and alot about Hematology. You will also tend to give many more blood products and have many more ports/PICCs/Central Lines than the usual floor nurse does.

[DatMurse]

After some experience on the floor you will be scheduled to complete the Chemotherapy/Biotherapy certification through ONS. Prior to the certification, you will not be able to administer chemotherapy on your own. You will generally start out with mostly Med/Surg and the easier pre/post chemotherapy patients. Over time you will become more knowledgeable and after getting certified, you will be able to care for the more complex cancer patients and administer the chemotherapy yourself. You will probably deal mostly with Leukemia and Lymphoma patients, with a smattering of Multiple Myeloma. Those tend to be the most common cancers hospitalized for chemotherapy. You will have some cancer patients for months at a time on the floor or those that come frequently for a week or two over a long span of time for several rounds of treatment. This will allow you to really get to know the cancer patient, their families, and their needs very well. You will learn about Nadir and alot about Hematology. You will also tend to give many more blood products and have many more ports/PICCs/Central Lines than the usual floor nurse does.[/quote']

multiple myeloma is not treated in patient unless they use salvage treatment with continous chemotherapy. Even the new drugs are outpatient. 4 were released last year