Five Years Career Plan
[Name]
[Institute]
[Date]
My Career Plan
The oncology nurses are the caretaker of all cancer patients of all ages. It is a challenging field of nursing and the nurse has to take care of the patient along with his/her family during the treatment. They have to deal with all the anxiety which comes with this disease. The field of oncology is different from the early days. This field is dynamic and is evolving slowly as new therapists are introduced. Oncology nurses have to play a very important role in the career path the chose ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"02rGFM8H","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Jacobson, J. O., et al., 2009)","plainCitation":"(Jacobson, J. O., et al., 2009)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":178,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LY9XXHSK/items/MCBPPVL8"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LY9XXHSK/items/MCBPPVL8"],"itemData":{"id":178,"type":"article-journal","title":"American society of clinical oncology/oncology nursing society chemotherapy administration safety standards. Journal of Clinical Oncology, .","page":"5469","volume":"27(32),","author":[{"family":"Jacobson, J. O.,","given":""},{"family":"Polovich, M.,","given":""},{"family":"McNiff, K.","given":""},{"literal":"LeFebvre, K. B"},{"literal":"K. B., Cummings,"},{"literal":"& McCorkle"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Jacobson, J. O., et al., 2009)
As an oncology nurse, the individual has to face many challenges that come with the long learning career and professional growth. It gives you a chance to develop a strong relationship with patients. The pay system depends on your experience and the level of education that you have. In 2016, the Bureau of labor have highlighted the mean annual of nurses to be $68,450 and they have defined a range from $47,120 to $102,990 annually. There are various additional bonuses for high achievers (Jacobson, J. O., et al., 2009).
Career Options for an Oncology Nurse
Like most of RNs, an Oncology nurse will help in diagnostic tests, will keep the records of the patient medical history and will take vigorous signs. Another important thing about this profession is that the oncology nurse has to teach the patient and his/her family to maintain health after the treatment ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"CHQAIW0q","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(\\uc0\\u8220{}How to Become an Oncology Nurse.,\\uc0\\u8221{} 2014)","plainCitation":"(“How to Become an Oncology Nurse.,” 2014)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":180,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LY9XXHSK/items/5JMSDF3L"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LY9XXHSK/items/5JMSDF3L"],"itemData":{"id":180,"type":"post","title":"How to Become an Oncology Nurse.","issued":{"date-parts":[["2014"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (“How to Become an Oncology Nurse.,” 2014)
Degree:
Firstly bachelors or associate degree is needed to become a registered nurse and specialized degree in oncology is taken at the graduate level.
Field of study:
The field of study is nursing that is an advanced practice nurse, with a specialization in oncology. The nurse will be further trained to prescribed medicines, to understand primary care techniques and to do diagnostic tests.
Key responsibilities:
Medication that is administered, chemotherapy and other sorts of cancer treatment that includes taking care of the patient while they are going through their treatment, assist doctor, report and observe patients status and maintain his/her record.
Licenses and certifications:
License as a Registered Nurse is required and there are various other certifications that are important (“How to Become an Oncology Nurse.,” 2014). Certification can be obtained by passing the exam, NCLEX-RN. This exam will show that you have the capability to deliver four important elements of nursing. Those are, provide a pleasant environment that reveals care and will focus on the control of infection. Secondly, you need to have psychological integrity which is that you have the capability to cope with the stressing environment. Thirdly, you need to remain committed to preemptive medicines and need to avoid the emergence of big problems (“How to Become an Oncology Nurse.” 2014).
There is post-master certification that focuses on the disease. The course is either program type that teaches to examine the pathophysiology of cancer, epidemiology, palliative, genetic and system management. This program includes both clinical practices and class work. (Lewis, A. E., 1999)The Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation has certified up to 36000 nurses In the USA. ONCC offers various options of certification that include4s, (OCN) Oncology Certified Nurse, Advanced Oncology Certified Nurse Practitioner (AOCNP), (CPHON) Certified Pediatric Hematology Oncology Nurse and CBCN, Certified Breast Care Nurse. Each certification is linked with an exam that has multiple choice questions ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"LDuliKU6","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Coleman, E. A., Coon, S. K., Lockhart, K., Montgomery, R, & Stewart, C., 2009)","plainCitation":"(Coleman, E. A., Coon, S. K., Lockhart, K., Montgomery, R, & Stewart, C., 2009)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":182,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LY9XXHSK/items/YHCKA85V"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LY9XXHSK/items/YHCKA85V"],"itemData":{"id":182,"type":"article-journal","title":".Effect of certification in oncology nursing on nursing-sensitive outcomes. Clinical journal of oncology nursing.","author":[{"family":"Coleman, E. A.,","given":""},{"literal":"Coon, S. K."},{"literal":"Lockhart, K.,"},{"literal":"Montgomery, R"},{"literal":"Stewart, C."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Coleman, E. A., Coon, S. K., Lockhart, K., Montgomery, R, & Stewart, C., 2009).
Related Alternative careers:
Some fields that are related to oncology are critical care nursing, rehabilitation nursing, and genetic nursing. LVNs that is licensed vocational nurses, LPNs that is Licensed practical nurses can give the nursing care but must be supervised by a registered nurse. Other nursing careers that are related to oncology are careers at nuclear medicines technologists, who will be dealing with the identification and treatment of cancer using radioactive drugs. Another option is of radiation therapist who has to do a specialization in the use of radiation for curing cancer (Coleman, E. A., et al., 2009).
The role of an oncology nurse has expanded and the nurse has to be involved in researches, direct patient care, and management and nurse navigations.
Oncology nurses can work in any setting like hospitals, Clinics, cancer centers, with physicians, in-home care agencies that include hospice care and palliative and they can also work in big care facilitating agencies. In addition to the diversity in the work location there are various areas that an oncologist can focus:
In addition to variety in work locations, there are many areas of oncology in which to focus. These include:
Gynecologic oncology: A certified registered Nurse practitioner fits as a Gynecologist nurse as the Oncology Nurse Practitioner have various background including adult care, women’s health, oncology, etc. they have a background knowledge of gynecology as well as oncology so they usually work on GYN malignancies and assist the physician in treatment like chemo, research protocol and radiography ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"YzGDmhe2","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Brotto, L. A., Heiman, J. R, Goff, B., & Lentz, G., 2008)","plainCitation":"(Brotto, L. A., Heiman, J. R, Goff, B., & Lentz, G., 2008)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":183,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LY9XXHSK/items/BKTNFKE3"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LY9XXHSK/items/BKTNFKE3"],"itemData":{"id":183,"type":"article-journal","title":"A psychoeducational intervention for sexual dysfunction in women with gynecologic cancer. Archives of Sexual behavior .","page":"317-329.","author":[{"literal":"Brotto, L. A."},{"literal":"Heiman, J. R"},{"literal":"Goff, B."},{"literal":"Lentz, G."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2008"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Brotto, L. A., Heiman, J. R, Goff, B., & Lentz, G., 2008).
GYN are responsible for managing post-operative cancer patients, that management includes dealing with wound care. Secondly, giving colposcopy to those having gentile cancers. Thirdly, providing cancer screening care patients with high-risk factors (Coleman, E. A., et al., 2009).
Radiation oncology:
Radio oncology advanced practice nurses, NP, as well as CNS, are the emerging members of this multidisciplinary field of oncology. They are responsible for providing care to the patient directly and are deeply involved in the specialized procedures and they are also responsible for the initial follow-ups. They are also responsible to be more involved with the patient that is going through radiation therapy. They need to provide care and emotional support during the treatment plus the doctor also needs their assistance. An advanced practitioner will add up to this workload and an oncology nurse is the best person needed in such situation ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"iYVA9G1l","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Carper, E. & Haas, M., 203AD)","plainCitation":"(Carper, E. & Haas, M., 203AD)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":184,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LY9XXHSK/items/WIFZNJQE"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LY9XXHSK/items/WIFZNJQE"],"itemData":{"id":184,"type":"article-journal","title":"Advanced practice nursing in radiation oncology. In Seminars in oncology nursing","volume":"22, No. 4","author":[{"literal":"Carper, E."},{"literal":"Haas, M."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["203"]],"season":"211"}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Carper, E. & Haas, M., 203AD).
Surgical oncology:
Surgery is the treatment option for cancerous tumors who cannot be controlled through chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Such tumors are mostly solid tumors. The patient is then placed in any care center for further treatments. Surgical oncology Nursing provides a wide range of examinations of the patient from his/her stage of diagnoses to the point of survivorship. Various nursing staffs are required in this team and from navigation to advanced practice nursing ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"Xn1iqquf","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}Surgical Oncology Nursing | ONS}, 2019)","plainCitation":"(Surgical Oncology Nursing | ONS, 2019)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":185,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LY9XXHSK/items/RX69XBH4"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LY9XXHSK/items/RX69XBH4"],"itemData":{"id":185,"type":"article","title":"Surgical Oncology Nursing | ONS","issued":{"date-parts":[["2019"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Surgical Oncology Nursing | ONS, 2019).
Immunotherapy:
The number of agents who will be using immunotherapy is increasing and so are the nurses facing challenges with managing the agents. Oncology nursing society and clinical nurses get a set of recommendation for dealing with the patients that are going through immunotherapy. They receive administration procedures and safety measures to reduce risk factors during the treatment ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"tzkTan0u","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Wiley, Kathleen;, Kristine B, & LeFebvre, 2017)","plainCitation":"(Wiley, Kathleen;, Kristine B, & LeFebvre, 2017)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":186,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LY9XXHSK/items/XLNV8HJH"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LY9XXHSK/items/XLNV8HJH"],"itemData":{"id":186,"type":"article-journal","title":"Immunotherapy Administration.","volume":"Vol. 21","author":[{"literal":"Wiley,"},{"literal":"Kathleen;"},{"family":"Kristine B","given":""},{"literal":"LeFebvre"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2017"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Wiley, Kathleen;, Kristine B, & LeFebvre, 2017).
There are lots of other career option for oncological nurses like the can work in a department like bone marrow transplantations, Breast ontology, infusion of chemotherapy and genetic counseling (Coleman, E. A., et al., 2009).
Career Plan Report
I chose to study nursing because nurses sacrifice their time and energy for the good of others. I personally find it interesting to deal with people especially when they need help and support. I, therefore, chose to do bachelors of Science in nursing. I have a specialty preference before entering into clinical work or other professional fields. I will do specialization in oncology and I want to work on my degree before going into clinical work.
After doing my BSN I will have the options of applying for leadership jobs. Such job comes with a high salary and they do not include that much supervision from a doctor so you will get to explore your leadership qualities as well. Those jobs will make you work on researching and critical thinking capabilities ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"jS1cEtWH","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Marquis, B., & Huston, C., 2015)","plainCitation":"(Marquis, B., & Huston, C., 2015)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":187,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LY9XXHSK/items/598URRSS"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LY9XXHSK/items/598URRSS"],"itemData":{"id":187,"type":"book","title":"Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application.","edition":"Eighth ed","author":[{"literal":"Marquis, B.,"},{"literal":"Huston, C."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Marquis, B., & Huston, C., 2015). I had to do further certifications to be part of such organizations.
Before entering into the professional field I will have to register myself with the Nursing and midwifery council and I had to revalidate this registration for every three years. I will also meet some condition before practicing nursing. Those conditions include 450 hours of registers practice and 35 hours of professional development practice (Your career options in nursing. 2014).
They will also check my personal qualities of dedication, hard work, and patient care patterns. I am planning to work as a clinic nurse, or in cancer hospital or in a care center and I have to do further certification in these five years. I have to target employers as a fresh graduate nurse with a specialization in oncology. I will search the target areas and I will prepare my resume according to the requirements of the target organizational and will send an application along with my resume. I will have to think of techniques for a good work/life balance.
Strategies for maintaining work/life balance and personal wellness
Specify the time for work and personal life:
Nurses have to deal with lots of workload, stress and much more during the work hours. Such things might waste their time so in order to have a balance between personal and professional lifetime set should be defined where you will work and complete your task in that specific time zone. You have to accept the stress which works brings with itself and you have to cope anyway. Soon I will specify a time zone where I will focus only on my work and the rest of the time I will spare for my personal life.
Maintain an exact energy level:
I will have to maintain my energy level so that I will not panic in my working hours and disturb my work/life balance. I will take off my diet, will do exercise and will not take stress over my work. I will have to practice them daily so that the will be part of my routine in these five years. I selected those strategies because for me those are the most important steps to keep work/life balance.
Professional Nursing Organizations
Being a graduate in oncology and having a thrust for clinical research oncology I think that the Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center, Florida will be the best organization to start my professional life with ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"nQtGfrs5","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center Now Open in Jacksonville, Florida. Baptistjax.com.}, 2019)","plainCitation":"(Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center Now Open in Jacksonville, Florida. Baptistjax.com., 2019)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":189,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LY9XXHSK/items/HZPJPF7P"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LY9XXHSK/items/HZPJPF7P"],"itemData":{"id":189,"type":"article","title":"Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center Now Open in Jacksonville, Florida. Baptistjax.com.","issued":{"date-parts":[["2019"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center Now Open in Jacksonville, Florida, 2019).
Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center:
This cancer center tries to beat cancer in extraordinary ways and saves millions of lives every year. The will deliver services in a highly organized way and provide an efficient outcome for each and every patient. It brings together the clinical breakthrough of all the top American cancer centers. It provides the most preferred health facilities in the USA.
The Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center includes in an acute clinical practice and it helps them to develop an area of very productive scholarship. It provides multidisciplinary oncology training related to patient care. It includes its members in research programs and high-quality management programs. It gives recreational opportunities and a chance to build a professional career for young graduates. It has employees from a diverse academic background and it gives the opportunity to every candidate equally to develop professionally in a dynamic society. The mission of this care center is to pluck out the roots of cancer from Texas in particular and the whole nation in general. It has research-based patient care and it wants to be the number one cancer hospital in the world (Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center Now Open in Jacksonville, Florida, 2019). The reason I want to be the part of tis cancer center first as a trainee then as an employee just because of its research-based treatments strategies
It is strongly dedicated to provide high-quality care for every member associate to this institute, either the staffs or the patients who are under treatment. It has designed dozen of care centers and the have the facilities of the shared electronic health record within the institute. It enhances its service both for the staffs and the patients every year. Its aim is to provide excellent health facilities and encourage people who are fighting with cancer.
It serves the needs of its employees and employer through various measures like, it focuses on the health of its employees who might be having some health issues such as heart issues or obesity. It lets its employee use evidence-based approach for screening of the patient and data collections for research purpose. Each employee has personal health portals with his/her blood composition results, including blood sugar and cholesterol data that will keep a track of their health and wellbeing.
Mayo Clinic Cancer Center:
Mayo Clinic has located in the heart of New York and 120,000 cancer patient visit it every year. The center has extensive experts that make it possible to handle every sort of cancer. Mayo Clinic doctors and researchers work together as a team to provide the best service for their patients ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"oSzekVPP","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Molina, J. R., et al., 2007)","plainCitation":"(Molina, J. R., et al., 2007)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":191,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LY9XXHSK/items/GW4MAGLM"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/LY9XXHSK/items/GW4MAGLM"],"itemData":{"id":191,"type":"article-journal","title":"Predictors of survival from urachal cancer: a Mayo Clinic study of 49 cases. Cancer: Interdisciplinary International Journal of the American Cancer Society.","page":"2434-2440.","author":[{"literal":"Molina, J. R.,"},{"literal":"Quevedo, J. F."},{"literal":", Furth, A. F.,"},{"literal":"Richardson, R. L"},{"literal":"., Zincke, H.,"},{"literal":"& Burch, P. A."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2007"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Molina, J. R., et al., 2007).
I want to work with this cancer center because of their team based working patterns and their patient-centric research works. I want to work in their research team to enhance my knowledge of the field of oncology more. I will be glad to work with a team of experts who have the capability to be the number one in the world.
It provides its member with a platform to do research and development. They are directly involved in research work related to cancer. It does the treatment of its patient through three stages where the doctors provide safe doses for timely recovery. It also provides training grants to its trainees.
Certification and further education:
The benefits of being certified are that the knowledge on oncology is confirmed and it shows your commitment towards your profession. It makes you ready for the responsibilities that you’re going to have. It increases your marketability and credibility and it makes you the part of a global nursing system.
The oncology nursing society acclaims that ball the oncology nurses and those who can take of cancer patients needs to have certifications as proof of their additional skills. I want to get the certification of AOCNS that is an Advanced Oncology Certified Clinical Nurse Specialist. Because it deals with all aspect of the care of the cancer patients and it deals with high degree cancer and helps to do the assessment, management, and treatment of the patient. I will get it from the oncology nursing certification corporate because they are the authentic body that provides this certificate. The will conduct a computer-based test and discount are also available for the exams.
I had my four years bachelors in nursing with socialization in oncology and in order to become a specialist in this field I have to study further. I am thinking to do a two years master’s program to be a professional and certified Nurse practitioner. During the master (MSN) I will also be doing supervised clinical practices related to oncology because that is the eligibility criteria for the Certification of Advanced Oncology Certified Nurse Practitioner (AOCNP).
The characteristics of the type of organization that I want to work with:
I chose this career as an oncology nurse because of my nature of taking care of people when they are going through the hardest times of their lives. They ate those people who need your guidance to go through paths they did not choose for themselves. It is, therefore, I want to work with an organization that will be patient-centric and that will focus on the grooming of employee both personally and professionally. I would like to work with an organization like the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center because they provide the platform for research and development. They work in a team which will help to gain emotional and professional support.
This course helped me to build leadership qualities such as:
It gave me insight into my decision making power, by the help of this course I got to know that what career plan that I have to choose to be the best practicing nurse and how to decide that. We worked closely with other fellows and it helps to build my emotional intelligence. Secondly, this course taught us to make the right choices while handling the patients so that helped me build up my integrity. Thirdly, critical thinking was the focus of this course that helped me to generate new ideas and also boost up my qualities of conducting researches. Such skills are vital in the environment related to health care and it increases the collaboration among the teams. The skills of critical thinking in autonomous nurses is also helpful to have a bright career. This course taught me to remain dedicated and committed to my passion and it builds up my interest in this field even more.
The course also helped to boost up my communication skills and also provided the technique to improve my performance. It helped to build collaboration among each other which will guide us to work in teams when we will be in professional fields. The course also taught me to socialize in a professional way and it is very helpful to deal with the teams and the patient that we are going to handle a professional nurse. It taught me to identify opportunities as a professional and to work on those opportunities.
It helped me to generate motivational strategies so that I will have enough strategies when I am on a filed working and I have to balance my professional and personal life.
In nutshell, this course taught me professionalism and build up my leadership qualities. I can use leadership skills like good decision making, problem-solving skills, handling stressful situations and providing good care to handle patients who are going through the ugliest times of their life. I can guide them through those timings with the help of my knowledge and proficiency as a graduate nurse. Leade4ship qualities need to be focused because nursing is a tough career which needs more dedication and team work and that will not be possible without having good leadership qualities. This course works deal with all sort of management skills and leadership skills that a nurse will need to be a professional.
References
ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center Now Open in Jacksonville, Florida. Baptistjax.com. (2019).
Brotto, L. A., Heiman, J. R, Goff, B., & Lentz, G. (2008). A psychoeducational intervention for sexual dysfunction in women with gynecologic cancer. Archives of Sexual behavior . 317-329.
Carper, E., & Haas, M. (203AD). Advanced practice nursing in radiation oncology. In Seminars in oncology nursing. 22, No. 4.
Coleman, E. A., Coon, S. K., Lockhart, K., Montgomery, R, & Stewart, C. (2009). .Effect of certification in oncology nursing on nursing-sensitive outcomes. Clinical journal of oncology nursing.
How to Become an Oncology Nurse. (2014).
Jacobson, J. O., Polovich, M., McNiff, K., LeFebvre, K. B, K. B., Cummings, & & McCorkle. (2009). American society of clinical oncology/oncology nursing society chemotherapy administration safety standards. Journal of Clinical Oncology, . 27(32), 5469.
Marquis, B., & Huston, C. (2015). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing: Theory and application. (Eighth ed).
Molina, J. R., Quevedo, J. F., , Furth, A. F., Richardson, R. L, ., Zincke, H., & & Burch, P. A. (2007). Predictors of survival from urachal cancer: a Mayo Clinic study of 49 cases. Cancer: Interdisciplinary International Journal of the American Cancer Society. 2434-2440.
Surgical Oncology Nursing | ONS. (2019).
Wiley, Kathleen;, Kristine B, & LeFebvre. (2017). Immunotherapy Administration. Vol. 21.
