OncologyCat BSN, RN

I haven’t heard anything about avoiding tylenol for immunotherapy. For standard of care immunotherapy such as Daratumumab or Rituxan we still give tylenol as premed. The policy in our workplace for hypersensitivity reactions also allow to use tylenol...

I work with phase I and phase II clinical trials. Depending on each protocol, the principal investigator will specify in the protocol which drugs to give in case of hypersensitivity reactions. Some meds require premeds per the sponsor, and the most c...

OCN is more comprehensive for all cancer types; you’ll get questions about both solid and liquid cancers throughout your test. There could also be questions about radiation oncology in the test. Most onc nurse start with or obtain OCN first. BMT...

I would think so! When I did my practice tests at home, I didn't feel prepared and usually scored around 60-70%, but the actual exam was less challenging for me, to be honest with you. I had to think through the questions and rely on my previous clin...

I didn’t realize they changed it either until I saw your question! Doesn’t seem like they made a big announcement on their homepage either; I just looked through the list of credentials offered by ANCC and found they’re now changed. But I agree, MEDS...

Join the ONS. They have many good resources about oncology. Many institutions also use ONS as a source of education (such as chemotherapy class, BMT class, oncology foundations) so it’ll be good to get used to the website.

I’ve only been a nurse for 3 years but moving to outpatient nursing is the best decision I’ve ever made career-wise! No nights/holidays (our clinic still opens on the weekends but we take turn doing them so we only need to work 1-2 weekend shifts a q...

I just looked it up on ANCC and looks like they’re changing the credentials for each field so it can be more specific instead of the generic RN-BC (such as GERO-BC or PED-BC). However I have to say I’m not very satisfied with how they abbreviated the...

I believe there are new grad onc residency programs in Boston but it is extremely difficult to get into, especially when you go to school out of state (unless you went to a big named school out of state like UPenn or UMichigan). MGH and BWH have new ...

I had 2.5 years of experience when I moved to Boston and was offered ~$32/hr without diff. From my experience Mass General Hospital is paying slightly higher compared to Brigham and Women’s, but they don’t have a nursing union there. I was told the M...

Have you looked at hospitals around Providence area? Commuting across tiny New England states 3 days/week can be challenging, especially in the Winter (though I'm sure you have the Winter driving skills since you're coming from MN). I know Mass...

Look into states that have a nursing union since not all states have one. I heard California and New York both have great nursing union system, but the hospitals can be, understandably, difficult to get in. Massachusetts also have a nursing union. ...

MGH unfortunately does not have a nursing union even though many other hospitals in the same Mass General Brigham (which used to be Partners Healthcare) system have an active union. However the new grad base rate seem to be the same across the system...

If you want to do acute rehab you can try applying to Spaulding as well. Not sure if you know about the Mass General Brigham system (which used to be Partners Health care) which is a system of hospitals together including Mass General Hospital, Brigh...

I’m glad you followed your gut intuition! Can’t ignore those feelings especially when you’re a nurse! I hope everything is working out for you now.

Congratulations! I'm glad my advice was helpful!

Is there any way you can connect to current employees of that hospital? They’ll be a better resource for you in terms of working conditions etc. I’ve only heard from my colleagues who transferred to my hospital and obviously didn’t like Portsmouth Ho...

Not a good place to work according to my colleagues who moved from Portsmouth Hospital. It sounds like they explicitly care much more about money than pt care. HCA has been notorious as a poor employer especially for nurses. Not worth a switch imo. I...

I miss my monthly all-you-can-eat hot pot buffet and the rolling dim sum carts in Chinatown ?

I think the hands-on experience in onc is very helpful in passing the OCN exam. It also makes it easier when you sit down and study for the test. Many onc positions don’t require OCN certification upfront (unless you’re applying to a more competitive...

I just got my OCN earlier this year. I studied casually and browsed through my materials for a year until I signed up for my test. I sat down, took notes, and studied for 2-3 weeks before my test date. I did go to a review class at my workplace. ...

I didn’t dismiss that there’s no discrimination in Boston. As I said, “I’m sure there’s cases where discrimination occurs,” so I think you misinterpreted what I meant. I live in a neighborhood with primarily college students from different countries,...

Love the petition, but when it comes to immigration issue unfortunately the US is not very responsive and flexible with non-US citizens.

Not necessarily. We still have nurses with associate degree, though they sometimes have a harder time getting jobs in the hospital, and most of them go back to school to get their bachelors. The bachelor degree in your country might not be equivalent...

I was told all green card and OPT applications are on hold due to COVID so yes, it will definitely be harder for hospitals to hire foreign nurses.