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Creating a pipeline for
careers in oncology
nursing
By Sarah Bahari
“There is
a huge shortage of nurses in
oncology, and TCU is doing its part to
help meet the demand,”
center director
Suzy Lockwood said.
Students (L-R) Felisha Trevino, Wilberta Jackson, Kristin Cowley, Kathryn
Aubuchon, Meredith Lenney and Medley Wollenman participate in a lecture
on prostate cancer. They discussed how ethics come into “play” in the
ambulatory setting, then worked on their group project: “Cancer along the
Care Continuum: The Experience of Cervical Cancer.” (Photo by Suzy Lockwood)
TCU’s Oncology Education and Resource Center will continue to
recruit and train oncology nurses, boost research initiatives and
build community awareness with a grant from UT Southwestern
Medical Center’s Moncrief Cancer Foundation.
Initially funded five years ago by UT Southwestern, the center has
received $1 million to continue its efforts. That grant will begin
in September.
“There is a huge shortage of nurses in oncology, and TCU is doing
its part to help meet the demand,” center director Suzy Lockwood
said. “Many students don’t immediately think of oncology, and
we’re showing them what this field has to offer.”
In the past five years, TCU has made numerous strides in oncology
education, awareness and research. The Baccalaureate Nursing
Emphasis in Oncology Program was nationally recognized
last year with the Innovations in Professional Nursing Award
from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Other
accomplishments include:
• Developing an undergraduate oncology elective. The number
of students who specialize in oncology after graduation has
increased by 75 percent, with 38 students choosing to do so
in 2011.
• Increasing student participation in oncology research, with many
students now participating in data collection and analysis.
• Providing professional development for TCU students, faculty,
staff and professional cancer care providers, as well as continuing
education programs and cancer prevention conferences
for women.
• Helping to run a survivorship clinic, which provides services, such
as nutrition, fitness and financial counseling, to cancer survivors.
Continued support from UT Southwestern’s Moncrief Cancer
Foundation will allow TCU to grow these efforts in coming years,
said Lockwood, also a TCU nursing professor.
Recruiting and training more oncology nurses is crucial, she added,
because the nursing shortage is likely to deepen as older nurses
retire when the economy strengthens.
“A lot of our students tell us they want to work in an E.R. or labor
and delivery, something exciting or something warm and fuzzy,”
Lockwood said. “But we show them oncology can be all of those
things. You develop close relationships with patients and families,
and that’s a unique and special thing.”
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