need advice on career from the experts

Daytonite, BSN, RN · May 27, 2005

Good for you. Oncology is a wonderful specialty. First, however, you need to finish your nursing program which is the general study of nursing. After your schooling you will want to look for a job on an oncology unit.

There are a number of professional journals devoted to cancer and oncology that you can find and read at a health science library connected with a medical school, a health sciences program or through a local hospital medical library. You should become a familiar visitor to the medical librarian at the hospital where you will be doing your clinical nursing because they are trained to help you find the books on the subjects you are looking for.

There are some large cancer treatment centers around the country that are renouned for research and treatment. Are you near any of them? For example, there is MD Anderson in Texas and City of Hope in California. There are others as well. These would be the ideal places to get your first job because these places are where things are happening.

Have you been in contact with the American Cancer Society to see what you can learn from them? They are committed to educating the public on the warning signs of cancer, a good place for a future oncology nurse to begin her learning.

Addendum: I just realized you were in the U.K. Sorry. However, I'm sure you can sure you must have medical librarians in the larger hospitals just as we do here in the states. Wouldn't the U.K. also have cancer treatment centers and some kind of organizations whose work is to educate the public?

lisa1 · May 27, 2005

Hello

I am living in the UK but thanks for your message it has certanly given me a few ideas to go forward with.

I am a ward volunteer in a pallitive centre- it is also a cancer charity but we have many patients with other chronic illnesses.

I will ask there for books to read but as you mentioned I first need to do my training all 3 years. :rotfl: I would like to work weekends in the oncology dept its just getting in my foot in the front door it will also help me if specialise later.

Do you specialise in this and what is the rountine?

Thanks

Good for you. Oncology is a wonderful specialty. First, however, you need to finish your nursing program which is the general study of nursing. After your schooling you will want to look for a job on an oncology unit.
There are a number of professional journals devoted to cancer and oncology that you can find and read at a health science library connected with a medical school, a health sciences program or through a local hospital medical library. You should become a familiar visitor to the medical librarian at the hospital where you will be doing your clinical nursing because they are trained to help you find the books on the subjects you are looking for.
There are some large cancer treatment centers around the country that are renouned for research and treatment. Are you near any of them? For example, there is MD Anderson in Texas and City of Hope in California. There are others as well. These would be the ideal places to get your first job because these places are where things are happening.
Have you been in contact with the American Cancer Society to see what you can learn from them? They are committed to educating the public on the warning signs of cancer, a good place for a future oncology nurse to begin her learning.
Addendum: I just realized you were in the U.K. Sorry. However, I'm sure you can sure you must have medical librarians in the larger hospitals just as we do here in the states. Wouldn't the U.K. also have cancer treatment centers and some kind of organizations whose work is to educate the public?

madwife2002, BSN, RN · May 27, 2005

Good advice but just be careful not to use too many US books, articles and Journals because whilst we acknowledge the US is further on in some research ect the Uk universities do prefer you to use British research. There are many reasons why and you will quickly learn as you go through your course, terminology, drug names are a couple of common reasons. So whilst you can refer to trails and research in US a lot of it is not applicable in UK, as we have to do our own research, which may or may not be connected to the US. I hope this makes sense.

Join the RCN as a student from this you can access stuff connected to areas of interest it only costs 89p per month and I advice all student to become a member.

lisa1 · May 27, 2005

Yes i will stick to uk research.

A question for you: At work i see alot of drug names which to me are unreadable and I struggle to pronounce them. Any tips or just a matter for learning then over and over again?

How do i join RCN?

vERY NEW TO THIS SITE

Good advice but just be careful not to use too many US books, articles and Journals because whilst we acknowledge the US is further on in some research ect the Uk universities do prefer you to use British research. There are many reasons why and you will quickly learn as you go through your course, terminology, drug names are a couple of common reasons. So whilst you can refer to trails and research in US a lot of it is not applicable in UK, as we have to do our own research, which may or may not be connected to the US. I hope this makes sense.
Join the RCN as a student from this you can access stuff connected to areas of interest it only costs 89p per month and I advice all student to become a member.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · May 27, 2005

Getting ones foot in any door is always a good trick. You just have to be alert for opportunities.

A very close friend of mine has been an oncology nurse for about 20 years. She works in a hospital on an oncology ward where they have a variety of patients. Besides doing general medical care they also give chemotherapy. Most of the patients on the unit she works will need a lot of nursing care because they are in a very weakened state. It is not uncommon that they will have IV fluids or gastric feeding tubes. They give a lot of blood transfusions to their cancer patients.

The U.S. also has a network of hospices that work with the government assistance programs to provide care to those people who are deemed to have 6 months or less to live. Mostly they are cancer patients who are terminally ill. The care given by the nurses who work for the hospices is done both in the patient's homes and sometimes in the hospital if they feel that the patient would be better helped by being hospitalized.

In the U.S. today the focus is moving more and more toward outpatient care. Patients are hospitalized overnight only if they are very ill. My mother had 6 rounds of chemotherapy this past year for breast cancer. She went to a large well-known cancer center to their outpatient clinic where she was taken to a private patient room with a bed and a TV. She first had her blood drawn for a complete blood count. Then, a nurse came in and inserted an IV and began an infusion of an antiemetic. After the antiemetic she was given two chemotherapeutic drugs IV push. Then her IV was removed and she was allowed to go home. Her total time in the clinic was anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half. She went through this every two weeks.

When her chemotherapy was completed she started radiation therapy. She went every day Monday through Friday at the same time each day to a radiation therapy center. Each treatment took only about 20 minutes and she had a total of 28 of them. She will have a follow-up appointment with the doctors who supervised these therapies in a couple of months, all on an outpatient basis.

For people who require chemotherapy that has to infuse over longer periods of time (like days), it is can still be done on an outpatient basis if the patient or the patient's family can assist. A Hickman line, Port-A-Cath or PICC line is inserted so the patient can be connected to IV fluids. There are companies who are in business to provide all the equipment, IV fluid and medications these patients need for their home infusions. They are supervised by home health nurses. It cuts costs by keeping patients at home.

Silverdragon102, BSN · May 27, 2005

Getting ones foot in any door is always a good trick. You just have to be alert for opportunities.
A very close friend of mine has been an oncology nurse for about 20 years. She works in a hospital on an oncology ward where they have a variety of patients. Besides doing general medical care they also give chemotherapy. Most of the patients on the unit she works will need a lot of nursing care because they are in a very weakened state. It is not uncommon that they will have IV fluids or gastric feeding tubes. They give a lot of blood transfusions to their cancer patients.
The U.S. also has a network of hospices that work with the government assistance programs to provide care to those people who are deemed to have 6 months or less to live. Mostly they are cancer patients who are terminally ill. The care given by the nurses who work for the hospices is done both in the patient's homes and sometimes in the hospital if they feel that the patient would be better helped by being hospitalized.
In the U.S. today the focus is moving more and more toward outpatient care. Patients are hospitalized overnight only if they are very ill. My mother had 6 rounds of chemotherapy this past year for breast cancer. She went to a large well-known cancer center to their outpatient clinic where she was taken to a private patient room with a bed and a TV. She first had her blood drawn for a complete blood count. Then, a nurse came in and inserted an IV and began an infusion of an antiemetic. After the antiemetic she was given two chemotherapeutic drugs IV push. Then her IV was removed and she was allowed to go home. Her total time in the clinic was anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half. She went through this every two weeks.
When her chemotherapy was completed she started radiation therapy. She went every day Monday through Friday at the same time each day to a radiation therapy center. Each treatment took only about 20 minutes and she had a total of 28 of them. She will have a follow-up appointment with the doctors who supervised these therapies in a couple of months, all on an outpatient basis.
For people who require chemotherapy that has to infuse over longer periods of time (like days), it is can still be done on an outpatient basis if the patient or the patient's family can assist. A Hickman line, Port-A-Cath or PICC line is inserted so the patient can be connected to IV fluids. There are companies who are in business to provide all the equipment, IV fluid and medications these patients need for their home infusions. They are supervised by home health nurses. It cuts costs by keeping patients at home.

here in the UK things are done much diferently and it is hard to find a place which gives IV medication in the home mainly due to lack of nurses, most hospitals I know in the north of UK have day units where patients come in for the day have their treatment and then go home but if need admission that can easily be arranged as the day units are generally near or on the oncology ward

Silverdragon102, BSN · May 27, 2005

Yes i will stick to uk research.
A question for you: At work i see alot of drug names which to me are unreadable and I struggle to pronounce them. Any tips or just a matter for learning then over and over again?
How do i join RCN?
vERY NEW TO THIS SITE

Even now and I have been nursing nearly 19 yrs I find drug names that are a struggle to say the main thing is try and say it how it looks keep practicing and if necessary also speak to a pharmasist as they will help you.

you can join RCN very simple here is a link http://www.rcn.org.uk/whyjoin/howtojoin/