A Nurse’s Love For Oncology Patients

Posted May 20th, 2021

I still remember the day I walked onto the medical/oncology unit for my interview.  I interviewed at about five different hospitals. I compared the hourly rate, benefits, sign-on bonuses- oh yes, back in 2004 when I graduated, they needed nurses and were giving sign-on bonuses! I never even had any clinicals at Penn, but as […]

5 Tips to Move Beyond the Bedside

Posted May 17th, 2021

Have you ever wondered how a nurse can expand on their bedside role to include other areas of interest or moving into different roles? While everyone has their own story, there are a few things that bridge many stories and that you can do to support your career journey. Maybe your goal is getting involved […]

To My Fellow Nurses

Posted May 13th, 2021

by Ashley Drake BSN, RN March 11, 2020. No longer a placeholder on the calendar, but rather an inflection point in life as we knew it. Nurses around the world have undoubtedly played an intimate, yet integral role in this monumental event, the COVID 19 global pandemic. A threat was introduced and all eyes were […]

It Might Sound Trite But…

Posted May 11th, 2021

This past weekend I had the chance to see some nursing friends I hadn’t seen in a while. All vaccinated and sitting at an outdoor table for brunch, it felt like no time had passed. Of course, over a year had gone by since we were able to sit face-to-face and enjoy each other’s company. […]

The Year of the Nurse & Midwife

Posted January 21st, 2020

“Nursing is a progressive art such that to stand still is to go backwards.” -Florence Nightingale The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated 2020 as “The Year of the Nurse and Midwife.” They are doing so in honor of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the most famous nurse—Florence Nightingale! Both professions play such […]

“I hope that someday you will be as great a nurse as Barb”

Posted May 28th, 2019

I’m sure that many nurses have those experiences they never forget – I do too. But for me, one of the most memorable events wasn’t really an event but the words of a patient early on in my career. Her words have stuck with me for 25+ years, long after I have forgotten her name […]

Karen Arnold-Korzeniowski, BSN, RN

Lessons Learned from the Bedside

Posted May 23rd, 2019

When I was getting ready to graduate from nursing school I had applied for a few different positions, all on medical/surgical floors. A professor I admired told me if you start your career working on this type of unit, you are setting yourself up to go anywhere in nursing. I got a call to interview […]

Answering the Call of Oncology Nursing

Posted May 21st, 2019

It rained that day and snowed that day, and then the sun shone through the window of my parents’ family room, warming my dad’s lifeless face as he lay in a hospital bed finally succumbing to lung cancer. On hospice for less than a week, he had no choice but to face his mortality. During […]

Beyond the Checklist

Posted May 14th, 2019

I am standing and waiting for the elevator back up to the third floor, where I work as a medical oncology nurse. I am holding my recently purchased lunch in hand, eagerly awaiting a short break where I can recharge before going back to caring for my patients. As I watch the numbers above the elevator door light up, a toddler in […]

A Silver Lining in a Cancer Diagnosis

Posted May 8th, 2019

During my first year as oncology nurse in the Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Medicine, I can recall an experience that has stuck with me over the years. One day, I was triaging patients that had arrived for their scheduled chemotherapy treatments. Despite the distractions and interruptions that the triage nursing role notoriously entails, my […]