Ever since I reached my junior year of highschool, the constant thought of what I wanted to pursue in college was always in the back of my mind. I had different ideas of careers that I might be interested in, but never thought about researching them. Until one day in English class, my teacher asked my class to write about an article that connects to my future career. I chose the article, “Oncology Nurse Practitioner Role”, written by Heather Mackey et. al. Mackey is an advanced oncology certified nurse with a masters of science of nursing. This article caught my attention because I have always been interested in having a job in the medical world, especially in oncology. I knew being a doctor would take a lot of work and so I looked for a job that is not quite a doctor but is not just a nurse. In Mackey et. al article, “Oncology Nurse Practitioner Role”, it expresses the importance of the safety of the patient, and different practice patterns, while explaining the different challenges oncology nurse practitioners face.
As the need for cancer care grows so does the treatment options, so oncology nurse practitioners have to deliver high-quality care and efforts to promote their practice to the fullest of their license. Oncology nurse practitioners are advanced practice registered nurses who have specialized knowledge and skill within oncology. These nurse practitioners practice to the full extent of their education and should receive higher levels of education and training. This training The nurses should be full partners with physicians and other healthcare professionals and should achieve the goal of Affordable Care Act. Which ensures better care and safety of their patients. Technology and online programs help teach nurse practitioners new methods to ensure the high standard of care. However with a high standard of care, includes many challenges such as a lack of available clinical placement sites, and a national nursing faculty shortage, for nurses seeking to advance their nursing degree.
Overall this article made me want to continue to pursue the career of an oncology nurse practitioner. It does sound like a lot of work but it will all pay off when you help a patient each day. It was also interesting that the author included how the job is increasing yet there is a shortage of nurses but yet the job is still increasing so I wonder how bad the shortage of nurses there are. Gave me insight on the training and goals of nurse pratitioner
