Student interested in oncology

[lalopop86]

I will be graduating with my ADN December 2013 and am finding myself more & more intrigued by oncology/hematology. I'm curious if it is common for new grads to have the opportunity to be hired on an oncology floor right out of school or is it recommended to have some med/surg experience under your belt? I am hoping to do an externship on an oncology floor before graduation but was wondering if there are any other things I can do to try to get an oncology job right out of school. Thanks in advance.

[mappers]

I was. I was hired onto a m/s/tele/heme/onc floor right out of school. Great experience because we had a lot of medical cases, CHF, COPD, GI Bleeds, etc, but we also specialized in oncology on half the unit. I was chemo certified within my first year in that unit. Now I do Heme/Onc outpatient full-time.

[lalopop86]

That's awesome. That sounds like an excellent experience. Do you know if it's commonplace for new grads to be hired onto oncology units or is it more like ICU where people want med-surg experience? Would you recommend or advise against a new grad to be an oncology nurse?

[nursetracy1980]

I too was hired into medsurg oncology right out of school and that was over 10 years ago. It is a great place to start as you will literally see everything, and you will become very familiar with all labs and procedures. My advice is to jump in feet first and get as much knowledge and experience as you can!