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Oncology Nurse Practitioner - Career Profile |
Career OverviewNurse practitioners trained to specialize in the care and general supervision of cancer patients, primarily in hospitals. Most oncology nurse practitioners treat cancer patients whose conditions are either chronic or critical.
Their role is typically to provide primary care, monitoring the physical condition of their patients, prescribing medications, and developing symptom management strategies to improve the quality of life for the patients.
To facilitate patient comfort, nurse practitioners may also work as educators, researchers, policy-makers, and administrators within hospital departments to facilitate the improvement of patient care and the education of family members, caregivers, and other hospital staff in the care of cancer patients.
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Career RequirementsTo be accepted by a nurse-practitioner program, candidates must be registered nurses and hold at least a Bachelor's Degree in nursing from an accredited institution.
Nurse practitioner training programs last between 18 months and 24 months and typically involve both classroom study and clinical training. The classroom instruction is relatively basic, exploring the most basic issues of preventative health care, proper nutrition, and basic anatomy and physiology, because most nurse practitioners have only the most basic exposure to medical theory.
Practitioners who specialize in oncology have experience in general medicine, amounting to usually at least one year's work of supervised clinical experience. Specialist training in oncology is also a requirement for this profession, typically met by the practical experience of each candidate. Experience is focused on the general care of cancer patients in both in- and outpatient settings, as well as the education of patients, of families, and of other medical personnel in the care of cancer patients.
Some institutions offer specialist training programs and certification in oncology. More information about training programs and certification is available through the following organization:
Oncology Nurse Society
125 Enterprise Drive,
Pittsburgh, PA 15275
www.ons.org
American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
P.O. Box 12846,
Austin, TX 78711
www.aanp.org
American Nurses Credentialing Center
600 Maryland Ave., SW, Suite 100 West
Washington, D.C. 20024-2571
(800) 284-2378
American Nurses' Association
8518 Georgia Ave.,
Ste. 400,
Silver Spring, MD 20910
www.nursingworld.org
The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties,
National Directory of Nurse Practitioner Programs
1522 K St. NW, Ste. 702,
Washington, DC 20005
www.nonpf.com
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Job OutlookCancer is currently one of the most common diseases in the United States. Every year, thousands of new cases are discovered. Most cancer patients require dramatic treatments, often over long periods of time.
As a consequence, the specialist skills of oncology nurse practitioners are likely to remain an asset to the health care system and the medical community. The job outlook for oncology nurse practitioners is, and looks set to remain, positive.
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Career TrackSee Nurse Practitioner
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CompensationSee Nurse Practitioner
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