Protocolized care
“I had been working as a oncology nurse in different hospitals and wanted to move on, with more responsibilities. If you are very tall nurse or an oncology nurse, you see some things come up again and again, but you often have to go to a doctor or a Nursing Specialist to ask permission for certain policies. I noticed that I could now take responsibility for much of the protocolized care myself. Although I must honestly say that during the training I discovered how much broader and deeper a medical specialist is trained, and how much is still involved, especially if the situation is not black and white. You also need to be able to substantiate what you do, and not just rely on experience. Because I now know more, I have actually gained more respect for medical specialists. At the same time, many decisions can be made by a US person.
The profession of Nursing Specialist is the result of a shift in tasks that has been going on for more than a century. In the past, the doctor would come to your bed to measure your blood pressure or set you up with an IV. The challenge is to maintain a broad view even after specialized training, because what if the problem the patient presents with is not urological? You must have good knowledge of the healthcare landscape, and I mainly rely on my years of experience as a nurse.”
Uro-oncology
Uro-oncology includes prostate cancer, a common type of cancer. “In addition to knowledge about this disease, uro-oncology also involves all kinds of general urological ailments, such as difficulty urinating or incontinence. We call this functional urology. It often occurs simultaneously, because it often concerns older men who, in addition to prostate cancer, can also have such a general ailment. This usually has no relation to prostate cancer. But these ailments can be the result of the treatment of prostate cancer. We therefore also need specialist knowledge in this regard.
Urology also includes rare cancers such as penile cancer and testicular cancer. These are types of cancer that are often still surrounded by a taboo. And then you sometimes see that people arrive too late, for example that there is already a real ugly abnormality on the penis. And in some cases you no longer recognize the entire penis and it stinks. We used to see this with breast cancer, when there was still a lot of shame about it. But unfortunately this is still the case with penile cancer.
Biopsies, sitting and talking
The work of a Nursing Specialist consists of a lot of sitting, calling and talking at a desk or table. I find explaining illness and treatment to patients extremely important and I also do my best to improve guidance and information to patients. For example, I have set up a group information program for men and their partners who are starting hormone therapy. This is a treatment that can have a major impact on the quality of life and people can positively influence that quality through lifestyle rules.
At one point I did miss performing actions in bed. So I have also trained in doing prostate biopsies for a year now. So I’m very technical again. That’s really nice about the AVL, because when I want something, I’m often told: ‘Make a plan and go do it!’ and then you can become very good at something very specialized. I just do such an action very often. And the same applies to everything: the more you do it, the better you become at it. The strength of the Nursing Specialist lies in this protocolled, common medical care.”
Nursing Specialist Vacancies
2023-10-27 10:34:14
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