Many patients will also receive radiation therapy as part of your treatment plan. Just like in the infusion suite, an oncology nurse in radiation will educate you about the radiation treatment, and the side effects that you might expect. The nurse, on a regular basis, will assess your physical and emotional needs, and any side effects that you are having from the radiation, and collaborate with the radiation oncologist to manage these.
Many of the oncology nurses that you will meet are "oncology certified". This means that they elected to continue their education with additional cancer-specific knowledge and clinical expertise beyond what they learned in a basic nursing program. Board certification is voluntary and ensures qualifications, knowledge and education in a specialty area. Oncology certified nurses (OCN) have met specific eligibility and passed an exam. They must continue to have eligible hours of practice and continuing education in order to renew their certification.