—By Haley Canter, Senior—
I have learned so much about patient care during my time as an extern at MD Anderson. I work on a unit that takes care of patients with head and neck, thoracic, breast, and genitourinary solid tumors. The patients on this floor come from all over the world and represent so many different cultures, religions and stages of life. While I’ve been here, I’ve learned so much about how chemotherapy, biotherapy, and radiation work along with how much they affect the functioning of each body system. Although cancer can be associated with hardship and sadness, this place is filled with so much happiness, life, and hope.
The most important and one of my favorite learning experiences I’ve had this far is the day I worked on the palliative care unit. On this unit, patients are typically admitted from another area of the hospital once they along with their primary care team, have decided to stop treatment. Most of these patients are at the end of life and will transition to hospice care at some point. Before starting my day on palliative care, I was really worried about how sad the environment would be since all these patients and their loved ones are facing end of life decisions. Three out of the four patients we took care of were young women who had aggressive forms of breast cancer, and the fourth was an older woman with acute myeloid leukemia. Although, I know that cancer can affect anyone at any age, I was shocked and saddened that people as young as their thirties would be on this type of floor dying from cancer. However, as I spent my day with these patients and their families, my outlook changed dramatically. The patients I had the honor of taking care of had such an inner peace and strength about them.
Being on this floor gave me so many new experiences to learn about what it means to take care of someone in this stage of life. I was taught everything from how to properly manage pain at end of life to how to care for someone who can no longer verbally communicate. I also learned from some amazing therapists and social workers the empathy and communication skills needed to discuss end of life concerns with patients and their loved ones. I felt like I was witnessing nursing at its best. Everyone working on the floor along with the family members worked tirelessly to ensure each patient felt as comfortable and cared for as possible. While there were moments during the day that broke my heart, I was truly amazed at how much the nurses in this role can make a difference.