Pregnant During Oncology Rotation

[AKrn24]

Hi,

I am a nursing student in the middle of my fast paced final semester, and I just completed 12 hrs of my first Oncology rotation. I am also 12 weeks pregnant. The clinic I started my rotation in is small, and the nurses mix their chemo and administer it all in the same area. They do have a hood available for them to mix under and I observed nurses using gowns and double gloves during administration. I became aware of the risks to nurses working with chemo patient's, going beyond just direct administration of the drug, after my first rotation, (the nursing staff that I was instructed under weren't knowledgeable on administration of chemotherapy as it relates to pregnancy). The nursing staff also share a bathroom with the patient's in this clinic. My question is from your more experienced opinion have I already been exposed to a harmful amount of chemotherapy from my direct interactions with the patients (accessing ports, lab draws etc.) and working in this general environment (with active chemo mixing and administration)? And should I complete that last portion of my clinical rotation? Thanks any advice welcome, hoping to have peace of mind at this point-

*** This question is cross-posted in the General Nursing Forum*** I apologize for anyone reading it twice but I was unable to remove the older posting.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

This is something you need to discuss with your healthcare provider. We cannot answer these questions both due to TOS, which doesn't allow for medical advice, and because we don't have the specifics.