Rachael Kunkel is an inpatient hematology/oncology registered nurse from the United States. She is a Certified Pediatric Nurse as well as a Certified Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurse. A member of The International Society of Paediatric Oncology since 2015, she works within the Nursing and Education/Training Paediatric Oncology in Developing Countries Working Group.
COVID-19
Before I talk about Cancer POINTE can I
just say a few words about the current situation.
I’ll be honest, I never gave much thought
to being a nurse during a pandemic. The whole world shutting down and fear
igniting like untamed fire. Here we are though. I’m hoping that if you’re
reading this blog post it means that you’re well or at the very least, doing
the best you can be. These are difficult, exhausting times to have a profession
in the healthcare field. Make sure to take care of yourself. As cliché as it
might sound, we truly can’t give our patients that best care if we don’t care
of ourselves. Know that the work you’re doing today matters and is making a
difference.
SIOP and paediatric oncology nurses
I first got involved with the Paediatric
Oncology International Training and Education (POINTE) group the summer of
2016. I had joined The International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) the
previous winter and was slowly, and timidly, getting involved within the
Paediatric Oncology in Developing Countries Working Groups (PODC-WG). I was
fortunate enough to network with people within the Nursing PODC-WG as well as
the Education and Training PODC-WG. As I nurse, I often found it difficult for
my voice to be heard in a multi-disciplinary setting. Or perhaps difficult to have
the courage to even speak up. This wasn’t, and continues to not be, the case
within SIOP. Everyone cares what nurses have to say and welcome my ideas and
thoughts.
The Year of the Nurse and Midwife
2020 was declared “The Year of the Nurse
and Midwife” by the World Health Organization (WHO). Those working within
POINTE had long seen the value and impact that nurses can provide and wanted to
have a separate, concise page within the website to house nursing information
regarding global paediatric oncology nursing care. With key stakeholders
working together, the Nursing Page of POINTE went live in the fall of 2019. I
can speak for everyone within POINTE that we hope these pages provide you with resources
and networking opportunities to not only make you feel supported within your
practice as a nurse, but to also know that you are not alone in the fight
against childhood cancer. You are most welcome here.
Pages on POINTE for nurses
There are three pages on the CancerPOINTE
site that are dedicated to paediatric oncology nurses:Nursing
This page provides information for paediatric oncology nurses. This includes events, news, meetings, conferences, educational resources and much more.
https://cancerpointe.com/nursing/
SIOP PODC needs you – how to get involved
This page is for paediatric oncology nurses that are looking for more information about getting involved in paediatric oncology in developing countries (PODC). This page focuses on SIOP and the SIOP PODC Nursing group, but also provides information on other ways to get involved.
https://cancerpointe.com/siop-podc-nursing/
SIOP PODC Nursing Meetings
The SIOP PODC Nursing group hold monthly meetings. These are held over Cure4Kids. This page contains information about these meetings, including how to attend, when they are held and presentation slides from previous meetings.
https://cancerpointe.com/siop-podc-nursing-meetings/
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