Bacteria

This week in ISM I went on my first mentor visit with my mentor Courtney Curran. On the visit, I learned a lot about basic procedure on the oncology floor and the level of severity that infection is held to. We visited two patients with neuroblastoma and one patient with leukemia.

Through this visit I learned the impact infection may have on a patient that is already sick with cancer, and that every environment must be sterile. Courtney showed me that every medication must be sealed until it is administered directly to the patient. The three rooms that we entered were quarantined, which means that the patients were at high risk for infection. Each patient is tagged for security purposes and for medical purposes. The medication that is administered to each patient has to be scanned and match what was ordered according to the wrist band. Cancer patients are more prone to infection during treatment. To avoid infection patients must brush their teeth three times a day, and not with water because some water may have bacteria in it.

In my next mentor visit I hope to receive access to the nurse handbook for immunotherapy, to be able to study what professionals with medical licenses are learning. If given the opportunity I would love to pick apart the medical terms and simplify the handbook.