Nursing student interested in oncology

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Hi. I'm currently a nursing student and am graduating in April. The hospital that my school is affiliated with has a large oncology department and I'm very interested in working in oncology, however my schools curriculum doesn't cover much about oncology. I was wondering if anyone has an advice on books or something to read that I could gain some knowledge from? Or is it best to just wait and learn on the job?

Thank you for any help.

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Specializes in Adult and pediatric emergency and critical care.

The Oncology Nurses Society has some great resources. Our hospital has a very large oncology and transplant program, so we have CE all of the time and welcome outside healthcare clinicians and students to attend. I would reach out and see what they are offering, hospitals don't tent to advertise things like their grand rounds but would be happy to have outsiders attend.

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Specializes in Oncology.

I agree, ONS is a good resource. Students membership is free, and there are a bunch of free CNEs for members.

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I started on BMT as a new grad and while I think there is a lot you will only learn on the job once you start, I think it could also be helpful to have a general understanding of oncology/cancer in general. ONS and many other websites/texts will have good information on the basics of cancer. Prior understanding how cancer, chemotherapy, and radiation all "work" will be beneficial as you start out.

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