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Discussion

RN, BSN

Hi Beth,

I have been nurse for 4years, but my journey to hospital has been only a year on Med/surg oncology. I now decided to get my certification as oncology nurse. I take care of cancer patients on our floor but never gave chemotherapy. I just took basics cancer class this month and I will be taking chemo class next month. My question is do I need to wait another year before taking my test to be certified as oncology nurse? Also any advice in this new journey? Actually my passion was ICU, but I am having hard time get familiar with the cardiac rhythms, that's why I thought that ICU is not maybe for me and I decided to join oncology specialty. Thank you

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    This is the Oncology nursing forum, not Ask Nurse Beth, but here are the requirements for OCN:

    Testing and Renewal | ONCC

    You can enter your information, including the percentage of oncology patients you care for, here to determine if you are eligible:

    Am I Eligible? | ONCC

    I am a peds nurse but I imagine the test would be difficult if you don't have a lot of chemo experience/knowledge. I would guess there are a lot of questions on chemo side effects/supportive nursing care/monitoring parameters. Those are the kinds of questions I usually get when I renew my APHON chemotherapy certification.

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    • Columnist

    This post has been moved to the Ask Nurse Beth forum. Beth will respond soon.

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    • Author

    Thank you for your input

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    Hey, so my two cents is to take your chemo class, then wait at least 6 months and go for OCN. Could you potentially study, take the test, and get your OCN? Probably, but it will likely be a lot easier if you wait. For what it's worth I started working in oncology as a new grad, got chemo certified after 9 months and OCN at 2 years. Despite knowing very little about outpatient regimens, I was able to pass easily, with very little study. Either way, good luck!

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