Oncology nursing careers showed its greatest advancement in the 1970s when nurses began to play a larger role in the area of cancer treatment. This came about as a result of the 1971 National Cancer Act. The role of nurses in this area of medical care began to expand and there was greater nurse involvement not to mention more educational programs that focused on oncology nursing as a specialty nursing area and not simply part of the larger whole. Today oncology nurses can choose from any number of specialty areas to look for work in.
Oncology nurses care for patients of any age who have been diagnosed with cancer. They find work in hospitals (including specialty hospitals), medical offices, home health care and ambulatory care centers. Oncology nurses must take a caring and empathetic approach to their care as the patients they will be assisting are ones who will be frightened and uncertain. As well, the diagnosis and the treatments that the patients must undergo are often painful and potentially life threatening.
A nurse who chooses an oncology nursing career is required to teach her patients, administer chemotherapy and manage the illness including all of the symptoms that accompany the treatment of the illness. Cancer is a very serious disease and therefore those nurses who wish to work in this area must have excellent interpersonal skills, a tremendous amount of understanding and concern for others, and the ability to adequately cope with death and dying. It also helps if she has a strong support system around her as dealing with sadness, suffering and pain is part of her day-to-day life on the job.
Oncology nursing requires the nurse to take on a number of roles all at once. She is a direct caregiver, as well as an educator, researcher, administrator and consultant. She will be working not just with patients who have been diagnosed with cancer but those who are at risk of developing cancer. She therefore must be able to teach her patients as well as counsel them on cancer prevention. Screening and detection are also a part of this.
Oncology nurses are registered nurses who practice at the generalist level and are expected to have a cancer-specific knowledge base and to also demonstrate expertise and superior knowledge in cancer care beyond what is required in the entry level or basic nursing program.
In order to work in advanced nursing practice in oncology a nurse requires at the very minimum a master’s degree in nursing. An oncology certified nurse (OCN) is someone who has obtained the level of competency required by the job while an advanced oncology certified nurse (AOCN) shows an even higher level.
