What does an oncology registered nurse do?
An oncology registered nurse is in charge of taking care of patients with cancer. Their responsibilities revolve around coordinating with physicians to devise particular care plans for patients, monitoring their daily condition and progress, administering medicine, preparing nutritious meals, and evaluating treatment results, reporting to the physician should there be any issues. Furthermore, as an oncology registered nurse, it is vital to provide physical and emotional support to patients as the treatments tend to be stressful and emotionally tolling.
Oncology registered nurse responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real oncology registered nurse resumes:
- Develop and manage outpatient chemotherapy infusion area in a private Gyn and Gyn-Onc practice.
- Display expert clinical skills in managing the progressive care of all categories of patients including bedside surgical procedures and chemotherapy administration.
- Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
- Administer medications and treatment for patients monitor by telemetry.
- Monitor stable and chronically ill patients using telemetry and mechanical ventilation methods.
- Maintain an environment of compassion by providing psychological and emotional support to patients and families.
- Devise and implement individualize patient care plans, and provide comprehensive education to patients regarding treatment options and expectations.
- Administer chemotherapy to ambulatory cancer patients including reconstitution and calculation of dosages according to prescribe chemotherapy guidelines and MD order.
- Act as a resource for all staff in the ICU.
- Perform role of primary nurse during code blue (ACLS & BCLS with rapid response team).
- Advance EKG training, ACLS certification obtain
- Provide nursing care for post-op patients most commonly GI, GU, and GYN surgeries.
- Provide direct care to patients with respiratory, GI, renal and other medical problems.
- Take care of patient that are pulmonary compromise (most patient are step down from ICU).
- Deliver the highest level of nursing care to medically fragile kids, infants-toddlers, within a daycare setting.
Oncology registered nurse skills and personality traits
We calculated that 28% of Oncology Registered Nurses are proficient in Patients, Acute Care, and Chemotherapy. They’re also known for soft skills such as Critical-thinking skills, Communication skills, and Compassion.
We break down the percentage of Oncology Registered Nurses that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 28%
Provided bedside care, treatment and assessment and documentation for patients receiving inpatient chemo and radiation treatment, requiring Chem Certification.
- Acute Care, 7%
Provided acute care for up to six patients including analyzing and assessing patient conditions and implementing effective intervention.
- Chemotherapy, 6%
Received national certification to administer chemotherapy.
- Acls, 4%
Maintain BLS, ACLS, PALS and Chemotherapy Certifications.
- Medical Oncology, 3%
Selected to represent Medical Oncology Unit on hospital committees including Wound Care Team, Gluccomander Super User and Telemetry Super User.
- Compassion, 3%
Develop and implement strategies to reduce compassion fatigue for 52 nursing and support staff members of oncology specialty unit.
"patients," "acute care," and "chemotherapy" are among the most common skills that oncology registered nurses use at work. You can find even more oncology registered nurse responsibilities below, including:
Critical-thinking skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an oncology registered nurse to have is critical-thinking skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "registered nurses must assess changes in the health status of patients, such as determining when to take corrective action." Oncology registered nurses often use critical-thinking skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "provide safe and effective patient care using critical-thinking skills. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform oncology registered nurse duties is communication skills. Oncology registered nurses responsibilities require that "registered nurses must be able to communicate effectively with patients in order to understand their concerns and evaluate their health conditions." Oncology registered nurses also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "leveraged interpersonal communication strengths to establish rapport and build trust with patients and families. "
Compassion. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of oncology registered nurses is compassion. This skill is critical to many everyday oncology registered nurse duties, as "registered nurses should be caring and empathetic when working with patients." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "provide competent and compassionate patient care to patients with long lengths of stay, and multiple physical and psychosocial issues. "
Detail oriented. oncology registered nurse responsibilities often require "detail oriented." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "registered nurses must be precise because they must ensure that patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time." This resume example shows what oncology registered nurses do with detail oriented on a typical day: "oriented and acted as charge nurse for a 26 bed unit overseeing patient care and safety. "
Emotional stability. Another crucial skill for an oncology registered nurse to carry out their responsibilities is "emotional stability." A big part of what oncology registered nurses relies on this skill, since "registered nurses need emotional resilience and the ability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stressors." How this skill relates to oncology registered nurse duties can be seen in an example from an oncology registered nurse resume snippet: "develop and implement patient care plans that include care to their physical, social and emotional well being. "
Organizational skills. Another skill commonly found on oncology registered nurse job descriptions is "organizational skills." It can come up quite often in oncology registered nurse duties, since "nurses often work with multiple patients who have a variety of health needs." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day oncology registered nurse responsibilities: "complied with physician orders and rigorous organizational protocols to provide bedside care to neuro and oncology patients. "
The three companies that hire the most oncology registered nurses are:
- Aya Healthcare2,156 oncology registered nurses jobs
- Trusted Health Plans2,155 oncology registered nurses jobs
- CarolinaEast328 oncology registered nurses jobs
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Compare different oncology registered nurses
Oncology registered nurse vs. Staff nurse
Staff nurses are registered nurses who are usually assigned to work in a care home, a company, or in a clinical setting. They advise the physical assessments of patients, employees, and residents. They also handle the checking of vital signs, providing basic medical procedures, giving first aid, and, if possible, providing over the counter medication. Staff nurses provide medical attention to the people in their place of assignment. They help pave the path to their patients' full recovery. Staff nurses are expected to be patient and have good interpersonal skills.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, oncology registered nurse responsibilities require skills like "compassion," "hematology," "ons," and "patient outcomes." Meanwhile a typical staff nurse has skills in areas such as "bls," "cpr," "patient safety," and "surgery." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Staff nurses tend to make the most money working in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $58,739. In contrast, oncology registered nurses make the biggest average salary, $63,612, in the health care industry.The education levels that staff nurses earn slightly differ from oncology registered nurses. In particular, staff nurses are 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an oncology registered nurse. Additionally, they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Oncology registered nurse vs. Registered nurse charge nurse
A registered charge nurse is responsible for supervising nurses' workflow in a particular department or area, ensuring every patient gets the proper care that they need. A registered charge nurse has the discretion to direct tasks, arrange schedules, and monitor patients, such as in the aspects of admission and discharge. Furthermore, a registered charge nurse must maintain an active line of communication and coordination among nurses, physicians, and other personnel involved as the conditions in a hospital can be unpredictable.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that oncology registered nurse responsibilities requires skills like "hematology," "ons," "hematology oncology," and "patient outcomes." But a registered nurse charge nurse might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "bls," "cpr," "resident care," and "infection control."
Registered nurses charge nurses earn a lower average salary than oncology registered nurses. But registered nurses charge nurses earn the highest pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $68,929. Additionally, oncology registered nurses earn the highest salaries in the health care with average pay of $63,612 annually.In general, registered nurses charge nurses achieve similar levels of education than oncology registered nurses. They're 0.0% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for oncology registered nurses in the next 3-5 years?
Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D.
Associate Dean of the School of Nursing Professor of Nursing, Quinnipiac University
Oncology registered nurse vs. Registered professional nurse
An advanced registered nurse practitioner (ARNP) is responsible for patient care. An ARNP may practice independently or work with other healthcare professionals such as physicians. Your duties typically include examining patients and determining diagnosis by physical examination, patient history, and other medical assessments, admitting, managing, and discharging patients to and from medical facilities, and managing health care by developing, implementing, and evaluating treatment and care plans for patients. You will also be responsible for referring patients to other health care service providers or facilities.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, oncology registered nurses are more likely to have skills like "hematology," "ons," "ocn," and "radiation therapy." But a registered professional nurse is more likely to have skills like "bls," "patient safety," "healthcare professionals," and "surgery."
Registered professional nurses earn the best pay in the utilities industry, where they command an average salary of $64,620. Oncology registered nurses earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $63,612.registered professional nurses typically earn similar educational levels compared to oncology registered nurses. Specifically, they're 4.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Oncology registered nurse vs. Advanced registered nurse practitioner
Types of oncology registered nurse
Updated January 8, 2025
