My Day at the Oncology Clinic

Today I had the privilege of shadowing an oncology nurse. Even though I can’t quite articulate what they were, I know I must have had some preconceived ideas of what an oncology clinic would look like, none of which were very aesthetically pleasing. Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Despite the cloudy Omaha weather, the clinic was so bright and cheery. Three of the clinics four walls were windows, which aided in the brightness and enhanced the openness of the room. Thankfully, the morning began slowly giving me time to get a “feel” for how the clinic functioned. Although I was involved with quite a few patients there was one in particular that stood out.

Around 10:00 am a group of about five people breezed their way into the clinic; they must have involved in an absolutely hilarious conversation because they were all laughing – it was the kind of infectious laugh that made you wonder what they were talking about. About this time, my nurse was busy charting but pointed their way, announced that “she” was our next client and with a chuckle mentioned that I would really like her. Well…I automatically assumed that the “she” my nurse was referring too was the elderly lady in the group. But no, she wasn’t pointing at her. She was pointing to the absolutely drop dead gorgeous young twenty-something year old girl.

I was just shocked. I was just sure I had heard wrong or maybe my nurse had pointed in the wrong directions; I mean she was charting. So when we approached their group I was surprised to see the young girl stand up, hug my nurse and tell her that they had so much to catch up on – it was as if they were old friends getting together for a cup of coffee not nurse and client meeting for another round of chemotherapy. After starting the infusion, my nurse and I went back to the nurse’s station, handed me the client’s chart and said that I should “definitely” read it.
Talk about an emotional experience! For obvious reasons (privacy) I’m not going to go into details. I will say that in comparison, I am so incredible ashamed that I had the audacity to complain about having a respiratory infection for three weeks. Seriously, ashamed. I’m pretty disgusted with myself that I complain so much about my petty complexion “problems.” I just could not believe the spirit of life flowing through this young woman, to say that I was inspired would be such an understatement. I was just in awe of her positive spirit. I was able to spend a while talking to her and her family; I feel so blessed and very fortunate that I was able to help care for them today.

One of the aspects I enjoy most about nursing is the opportunity we have to interact with our clients. I was so pleased that I had lots of time to talk to each of the clients, I really feel as though I was able to get to know a little about each of them. At the beginning of the shift, one of the first things my nurse said to me was – “You should know that we really think of ourselves and the patients as one big family.” She was definitely right; they really are each other’s extended family.