Topic Proposal

This week I was productive in terms of reaching towards finding a mentor. This week I conducted two interviews, one with an oncologist doctor and the other with a nurse the doctor had recommended. Doctor Aquino’s interview was very informative in describing the hospitals general procedures and the studies the hospital is participating in. He shared with me that the hospital was the first to trial immunotherapy. Immunotherapy is new technology in cancer treatment and recently FDA approved. This interview has reassured my interest in wanting a mentorship in the Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, due to the fact that there are so many connections and technology being built by this hospital specifically. My second interview with Nurse Winkle sparked an interest about nursing that I had not known. She focuses on the patient and family education of the treatment plan process. This is the most important part of the patient care in the treatment process. If the patient and family are unsure of the plan because of its complexity, the family may not choose the better treatment for their child or lose important information about the patient’s condition.

This week I have also submitted my topic proposal. I proposed that I create a visual aide that can educate the family of the various immunotherapy treatment plans. The education process must be in terms that a fourth grader may understand, so that no information is lost in communication.

This upcoming week I hope to find more information on immunotherapy through research. I also hope to learn more about the treatment process of patients going through immunotherapy in my upcoming interview.