Oncology nursing student...peds or adults?

Published

I am a senior nursing student and in the next few weeks we'll be putting in our requests for our final semester practicum. We'll have a preceptor and work 180 hours with our preceptor in a particular nursing specialty. I'm having a really hard time figuring out how to rank my choices, and was hoping you all might be able to help.

My heart is in oncology nursing. I know that for a fact. I am pretty sure I'd like to focus even further on pediatric oncology, but there is no practicum available that focuses on such specialized peds nursing. I would rather do adult oncology nursing than peds nursing in general, and I am pretty sure I could get a practicum on an adult oncology floor.

So here's my dilemma... Would it be better to get oncology experience with patients of any age and then seek out work with the kiddos later, OR would it be better to get pediatric experience and then specialize later? Is it possible to be hired onto a peds hem/onc unit if my oncology hours have all been with adults?

Any suggestions from those of you who are already in the field? I'd appreciate any insight! Thanks in advance. :specs:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I am not sure if it would be hard to transfer from adults to peds. I know of a traveler that has worked in Adult med-surg for years and cant get a job in peds to save her life. You may want to ask your local hospitals.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Oncology.

Nurses in pediatric oncology tend to be quite loyal...less turnaround time. It would probably be very difficult for a new grad to obtain a position in that field. I would suggest starting in adult. This way, you could start on an inpatient oncology floor that also sees medical/surgical overflow and get a good variety of experience. This will help you to manage your oncology patients ' comorbities if you choose to specialize further into oncology. Just a thought!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion