Outpatient Oncology Observational Experience
Created by Coleen Fritsche RN, MS, ACNP, CCRN & Kimberly Silver DNP, RN
Name______
Date of Observation ______Date Submitted ______
Pick one patient to complete this assignment on.
1. What type of cancer is your patient being treated for?
2. What is the past medical history for your patient and what social factors might contribute to your patients cancer diagnosis?
3. How was your patient diagnosed with cancer? Has your patient had a biopsy?
4. Differentiate benign tumors and malignant tumors?
5. If you patient has a tumor what was their classification/grade?
6. Is surgical treatment an option for your patient?
7. What were the laboratory values for your patient? (CBC, RBC, CA #, Electrolytes, any significant labs for your patient)
8. Has your patient had or is having radiation? If so, what is the treatment plan?
9. What type of chemotherapy is your patient receiving? What is the chemotherapeutic drug your patient is receiving? What is the classification of this drug? What are the side effects, and nursing considerations?
10. Has your patient received any blood transfusions? (RBCs, Platelets, or FFP)
11. Does this patient have other medical diagnoses? Please provide & explain any linkage of these medical problems and chronic kidney disease.
12. What medications is this patient on at home & why?
13. What other medications does the patient take to help manage the side effects of the chemotherapy?
14. How is the patients nutrition? Weight loss? Eating changes since the initiation of chemo or radiation?
15. Is your patient experiencing any side effects to the chemotherapy or radiation? How are they managing these side effects?
16. What is IVIG-Rituxain? What is it used to treat? Has your patient ever received this medication
17. Can this patient go away for 1-2 weeks on vacation? How is chemotherapy arranged?
18. Does your patient have the option to take their chemotherapy at home on a continuous pump? Or in an oral form?
19. How has your patient’s activity level been? Have they been experiencing any fatigue?
20. Observe the nurse & technician caring for the patient. What type of access does the patient have? What is the protocol for managing this access at this facility? What is required to be sterile?
21. Because of the risk for a blood spill or needle stick, what type of precautions are used?
22. When caring for a patient who is at the nadir of chemotherapy, what is the nurse highest priority?
23. During initial chemotherapy what are the most important and highest priority for the nurse to consider?
24. What are some of the major complications of chemotherapy?
25. What are the requirements for an RN to work in this setting?
26. How can you integrate patient centered care into this patient population?