This summer, I participated in the student nurse extern program at Cincinnati Children’s
Hospital. During this, I worked two night shifts per week from 7:00 PM until 7:00 AM. I had a
nurse who acted as my preceptor and showed me all the tasks she performs throughout the
night in the hematology/ oncology unit. Being in the college of nursing for the past two years has
given me a general glimpse into nursing. For example, what it means to be a good nurse, the
rights of medication, disease processes and more. However, spending twenty-four hours a week
on a unit with a consistent patient population was something very new to me.
I learned more than I could have ever imagined. First, I learned prioritization. When
given an assignment where each kid is sick with cancer, choosing which kid to visit first is a key
step. While sometimes the answer is obvious, other times it is necessary to use nursing
judgment. I also learned key aspects of care taking. Sometimes this was ensuring a medication
could run at the same time as a fluid. Other times, this was being able to take the extra thirty
minutes to sit with a child while their parents took a dinner break in the cafeteria. In some cases,
the child didn’t have a supportive family. At these times, it was important to ensure the patient
felt safe and as comfortable as possible. All in all, I changed as a nursing student, but also as
an individual. I learned that health is one of the most important things in life. While some cases
were extremely sad, it is important to remember how big of a role a nurse plays in one’s hospital
stay.
Working with the pediatric population is where I see myself in the future and is also the
reason I was able to see such a transformation in myself between the first and last day of my
internship. Kids are resilient. There were times when a three year old was playing, as if there
were no illnesses, while at the same time scans revealed tumors to his lungs. I understand the
importance of letting a kid be a kid, even when stuck in a hospital room.
For more, there was an instance where one patient said she was planning her funeral.
How does one respond to that statement? A twenty-one year old, who should still have so much
life to live. While I wanted to cry, she explained that everyone would wear pink. In this case, it
was important to be there to listen and realize that this patient has accepted her fate and is
trying to make the best of it. She told me I was one of the only student nurses she liked. I will
forever remember her and the statement she made to me.
Additionally, working overnight was something new to me. I was fearful to do so much as
to wake someone up when grabbing their vital signs. But this was my job. One of the things I
was allowed to do by myself was take someone’s temperature and blood pressure. But wouldn’t
they be mad if I lifted their arm and woke them up? While there were few kids that actually woke
up, the majority of the time they were not mad. In fact, this was their new normal. It was
instances like there where I recognized that doing my job is what matters. I will most definitely
come into contact with someone who gets mad about it, however, I ended the internship with no
fears of waking someone up. I would try my best to be quiet and gentle, but the important thing
was getting an accurate set of vitals.
Lastly, the relationships that I made with all of my co-workers really showed me an
example of what a unit should look like and the values that workers should have. There was not
one night that I did not hear “Do you guys need any help?” My precepting nurse was great.
Always taking the extra time to explain medications, diseases or more cancer specific content to
me. At the same time, the other nurses and charge nurses were great too. I now have an idea of
how nurses should help each other. I will be able to do this in the future.
All of these transformations are very valuable in my life as I will be entering the nursing
profession in the next year. In fact, this summer program at Cincinnati Children’s opened up the
door for me to be able to get a headstart on applying to work there as a registered nurse.
Working on the hematology/ oncology floor is not something I would have considered before this
job. However, it is now somewhere I could really see myself. In fact, Cincinnati was ranked the
number one hospital and number one oncology unit in the country. It would be an honor to work
there as a nurse.Though it is emotionally tolling, it is also rewarding. I would have a lot to learn,
in regards to oncology care, however, it is great I got valuable experience this summer to bring
with me.
