Article

Students Get a Double Glimpse Into Oncology
Carolee Polek, RN, PhD
Assistant Professor of Nursing, University of Delaware

The students at the University of Delaware can get exposed in many ways to the plethora of opportunities available to them in the field of oncology nursing. In one of the 14-week courses I offer, the students rotate clinically through the adult hematology and oncology unit and spend time in the bone marrow transplant unit, as well.

My local chapter of ONS, the Delaware Diamond Chapter (DDCONS), invites the students to attend one educational dinner program a semester, free of charge. The students are assigned to sit one to a table, thereby encouraging them to strike up a conversation with an oncology nurse at the table. Their assignment includes specific questions to ask the nurses at the table, such as, “What type of oncology nursing do you practice?,” “How long have you been in oncology nursing?,” and “What does having membership in a professional organization mean to you?’

The students truly are amazed at the information elicited at the dinner table. They didn’t realize how vast the field of oncology nursing is and the many positions that are available. Some are charged up about going into genetics because they had a wonderful conversation with a genetics counselor at the table. Others are thrilled with the thought of possibly looking into hospice nursing. What is rewarding to this faculty is the wonderful feedback from the DDCONS members in attendance that night. They always are impressed that the students are interested in attending an oncology program. They comment about how enthused the students were and how well mannered and respectful they were. Some even encourage the seniors to apply for jobs on their particular offices or units. By the end of this particular course, the students are required to complete a number of hours on a precepted clinical. Through this dinner meeting, some of the students are able to network and make connections and are invited to complete some of their clinical hours on the DDCONS members’ units.

One of the additional reasons for the dinner meeting is to expose the students to a professional organization. The members of DDCONS always make the students feel welcome. The programs are stimulating and educational, and the students get to see how their faculty members and the nurses who mentor them keep abreast of current information.

Additional assignments throughout the semester include participation in the skin cancer screenings offered to the community in May. The students, in collaboration with DDCONS, local dermatologists, and the Cancer Prevention Network, provide two skin cancer screening and educational programs to the community. The students are responsible for the educational aspect of the event and present a wonderful program with props to demonstrate self-examinations and proper use of sun-safe materials.

Nursing students participating in DDCONS activities conduct an educational skin cancer screening program at a local hospital.