New grad, new job in oncology

thenightnurse456 · Jul 3, 2015

I would find out from your unit what type of cancer and treatments they see most commonly and go from there. Solids? Blood cancers? Stem cell transplants? Etc.

Congratulations.

ChronicSG · Jul 3, 2015

Got it, I appreciate the feed back!

Littleguccipiggy · Jul 6, 2015

ONS has a ton of resources to learn from. Depending on your unit, you'll mostly have to learn about central line care, fever/neutropenia and symptom management. You'll do a bunch of blood product administration, maybe TPN, maybe dealing with NG tubes for small bowel obstructions, maybe post op care for surgical debulkings. You won't have to worry about giving chemo until you get your chemo card, but you may have patients who are post chemo - find out what your chemo safety precautions are for your hospital.

ChronicSG · Jul 7, 2015

ONS has a ton of resources to learn from. Depending on your unit, you'll mostly have to learn about central line care, fever/neutropenia and symptom management. You'll do a bunch of blood product administration, maybe TPN, maybe dealing with NG tubes for small bowel obstructions, maybe post op care for surgical debulkings. You won't have to worry about giving chemo until you get your chemo card, but you may have patients who are post chemo - find out what your chemo safety precautions are for your hospital.

Thanks for the tips and resources! Another question since you brought it up. I want to get the chemo cert as soon as I can so I can be as useful to the unit, don't want to be a burden. hahaha. How long does it take for a nurse to get it most of the time?

msnorth · Jul 8, 2015

The class is all online and takes at most a month. You can go at your own pace. Some finish sooner if they're renewing.

Littleguccipiggy · Jul 10, 2015

I would hold off on getting your chemo card now. Wait until you start on your floor to start thinking about it. Your hospital may have specific guidelines about when new grads get their chemo cert. My hospital requires our new grads to work for six months before they get their chemo card. This is because new grads have to be comfortable working on their own and able to handle emergencies without adding the complexity of hanging chemo on top of everything else. Don't think about being a burden on your unit, most patients on a oncology unit aren't receiving chemo. Heck, for some reason my assignment last night had me hanging all of the chemo on the unit that night. The fact that you're a staff nurse for your unit is a huge help. You'll be competent to handle the patients than floaters or travelers. Oncology patient are "walkie talkie" like med-surg patients but have the complexity of PCU patients. Also, most hospitals reimburse you for the expense of getting your chemo card.

ChronicSG · Jul 10, 2015

Thanks for the heads up guys!

Oh'Ello, BSN, RN · Jul 15, 2015

Thanks for the tips and resources! Another question since you brought it up. I want to get the chemo cert as soon as I can so I can be as useful to the unit, don't want to be a burden. hahaha. How long does it take for a nurse to get it most of the time?

Depending on where you work they may not even want the chemo card, but complete their own class and certification.... Just wait and see what they tell ya when you start.

ChronicSG · Jul 23, 2015

Hey guys! Well I was talking to one of the supervisors (really nice dude), and they were telling me not to worry so much about these certifications and to just try to grasp as much as I can. Chemo card would require 6 months and the OCN would require a year of experience. I'll keep y'all posted in my progress!

Littleguccipiggy · Jul 24, 2015

Good to hear from you ChronicSG! Don't even worry about rushing for the OCN, a year is just the minimum number of hours required to sit for the exam. Your educator should have study resources for you when you're ready for the test.

ChronicSG · Jul 25, 2015

Thank you!