Need Advice! Want to do oncology as a specialty

[RN1967]

Hello,

Nursing is a second career for me. I LOVE it! I have been working as a nurse for 2 years now of which the last 15 months have been on a busy tele/ step down ICU floor. I work day shift so the learning and experience has been immense and rewarding. I have a BSN and am at the point I want to get into the specialty of oncology. I have had a busy week with 2 interviews at magnet hospitals for their medical oncology floors (dayshifts) and one interview at a free standing radiation oncology facility (no nights, weekends or holidays). I want to get certifications in oncology. I haven't been offered a position yet but have a question on what would be the best route to go. Would I limiting my chances with the radiation oncology nursing job? I always thought I would be chemo certified first. I would obviously become chemo certified with the floor nursing hospital jobs. The radiation oncology job appeals to me for the hours though. If I pursue radiation oncology certification first am I decreasing my chance getting into medical oncology? Advice please! Thank you!

[db2xs]

Congrats on the interviews! I think that if you got into radiation first, you could always get into chemo eventually. I have never done radiation oncology--I jumped right into hematology and have been administering chemotherapy since the beginning of my career.

Whatever you decide will be the best for you, regardless!

[INN_777, BSN, RN]

I have not worked in radiation oncology, but think that, if ultimate goal is to be certified in oncology, working on a Med-Onc floor would, certainly, give you all the experience you need. You will see various types of cancers, onc emergencies, common symptoms, disease progression and chemo. It will prepare you well for certification. It is intense, however, professionally, physically, emotionally, spiritually.

So, I guess it depends on how important the more "normal" schedule is for you. Another option is to work in radiation oncology and pick up inpatient Med-Onc shifts for variety of experience (not sure if they would want you to get at least a year of experience on the floor in order to pick up shifts, though).

[JoMom4]

When we are hiring for nurses in radiation oncology, we are ideally looking for someone with oncology or out-patient experience. That doesn't mean someone without that experience can't be hired- attitude and willingness to learn go far. Rad Onc nursing is very much a coordination role and someone who is used to running a clinic while triaging phone calls is very helpful experience to have. Understanding oncology terms and what a patient is going through is also helpful.

So, my advice is to go for a job that you will truly love doing and if the hours and setting of Rad Onc is appealing to you, be prepared for a steep learning curve. We currently have a nurse who came to us as a new grad a year ago and she is awesome. This is an area she loves and she actively learns from the team every day. Being happy in your job goes a long way to being successful.

Good luck!