Pediatric Oncology Observation

Throughout my observation, I saw the how the pediatric oncology nurses collaborate with many different members of the patient’s medical team, which included physicians, social workers, psychologists and dietitians. At Saint Mary’s it was extremely important to see collaborating between the physicians, nurses and pharmacists in the morning during report. They all sat in a board room for the first hour and a half and reviewed the patient's current status and then discussed what steps they wanted to take next for the patient’s plan of care. It was important for each department of the medical team to be present, so everyone could voice their opinion on what they believed should be the next steps in the patient's care of plan and so everyone could work together to achieve the best possible outcome for the patient. Also, throughout this process I noticed that all of the physicians were assigned to their own patients and were experts on them, but they reviewed their patient’s information with other physicians and medical staff in the room to get second opinions on what they perceived was the best option for care. This showed how the health care team really works together and how everyone values the support from each other. Also pediatric outpatient …show more content…
They must communicate respectfully and preserve the patient’s dignity when performing physical care as well as when communicating and teaching. Also, administering medications to infants and young children requires extra caution. Because of their small size and immature body systems, pediatric patients are at increased risk for adverse effects of medication. In addition, preparing pediatric dosages often involves mathematical calculations, which also increases risk of error, so extra caution must be