Running Head: RESEARCH ASSESSMENT #1

Research Assessment #1
A Day In the Life of a Pediatric Oncologist
Nisha Anbu
Independence High School

Abstract:

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Although I am familiar with the basic duties that a Pediatric Oncology may hold, such as
examining patients, ordering diagnostic tests, making diagnoses and prescribing treatments from
the patient, I wasnt quite educated on what a typical day for a pediatric oncologist is really like.
Therefore this article discusses what a typical day as a Pediatric oncologist might consist of.
Personally, I feel that because a career is not a temporary thing, and is a lifetime commitment, it
is important to love your career to every extent. In order to do this it is important to wake up
every day excited for what you are going to do. A job should not be a chore. Therefore I decided
that I would first research what a typical day as a Pediatric oncologist might look like.

What I learned
The article started by stating that Pediatric oncologist usually just sign papers and
procedure orders, chemotherapy orders and home-health laboratory test right when they arrive

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to work in the morning. After doing research for my career industry forecast I learnt of this
information, but previously I only thought that Pediatric Oncologist just visited with patients all
day and diagnosed. This type of work is of course expected in this field. Over the summer I
volunteered at Childrens Medical Center Dallas, although I wasnt in the oncology department I
was in the Heart Center and there I had to separate some patient documents while they were
being transferred to an online copy. There I observed in reality how much paper work goes into
every patent file that the doctor/physician is in charge of.
The next part of the article discussed that when a Pediatric Oncologist is
consulting with their patients it is extremely important to broaden their perspective when coming
up with a diagnoses. This is understandable. Cancer is not a light subject and when diagnosing
cancer, because there are such a multitude of them that can affect any part of the body it is
extremely important to do many scans and tests in order to exactly pinpoint the affected area and
provide an accurate diagnosis. The author also described how it is beneficial to always consult
with other professionals in order to make the most authentic diagnoses.
Surprising information
The article also discussed how being a Pediatric Oncologist by no means is a
single handed job. It takes a team of Pharmacists, nurse practitioners and residents to discuss the
appropriate treatment method for a certain patient. In any career field we will never be alone. It
will always take a teams effort in order to make progress. Personally, I love to work in groups,
in school, on projects, I feel that it is much more effective to combine every ones strengths, then
work solo. In the Pediatric Oncology field because of the vast research teams available the
production of Drug therapies, Drug delivery systems, and protocol driven treatments have

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advanced this field tremendously and has allowed for a higher survival rate. The author goes on
to say that this can be the most exciting part of the day. Being able to discuss things such as
current care plans, new diagnoses and positive progress can create a sense of accomplishment,
yet in this field there is also a lot of negative results involved, such as death. Having to discuss
end-of-life care, palliative therapy, pain control, and optimal quality of life can, on the other
hand, be less optimal to discuss.
Relevance
Going on from this the Author also discusses how communication is key in this
field. Not only with the Discussions with other professionals, but also with the patient families.
Pediatric oncologists are trained in how to communicate bad news and discuss end-of-life care.
Personally communication is quite easy for me. Being able to talk one-on-one or face to face
with someone is what I prefer. With todays technology advancements people usually
communicate through email, text or phone, but in this field it is very important to be able to
communicate effectively face to face, this can be hard in our society today where face time is
considered taking face to face.
Relation to previous knowledge
This article concludes by discussing how a Pediatric Oncologist concludes their day by
visiting outpatient care and the infusion center. This on the other hand has a lighter aura.
Consisting of follow-ups, and surveillance of the cancer survivors are the true benefits of this
field and being a Pediatric Oncologist. This field is not an easy field to pursue a career in. There
is lots of work and effort that go into every patients well being, but in every career in order to be
successful hard work must go in. In this career, success is when you save a childs life, and to me

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being able to follow up with a patient after their treatment and hear about how there summer or
school might be going is worth all of the work in the world. It will take a long time to get here
and a lot of late nights, and even once the field there is even more work put into every day. This
is expected. Being in the Healthcare field is like no other career, we are dealing with lives. At the
end of the day, although it takes a lot of time and effort to pursue a career as a Pediatric
Oncologist, its all worth it when you save a life.
Further Questions
After reading this article I feel that I have discovered what it really takes to be a Pediatric
Oncologist, including all the paperwork, teamwork, and communication skills, and I feel that
these traits that the doctor possess, I also have strengths in these skills. In the future I want to
learn more in-depth about the specific areas of a Pediatric Oncologists day, for example the
discussions. What do the doctors specifically talk about? Is this when the doctors decide what
tests need to be done? I also am curious about the duration of time it takes for a child to be cured.
How long does a doctor keep a patient for? After this article I want to research more about why
each test is done and what each test is used to find? . In the end the thing that really draws me to
this career is the idea of changing a childs life for the better.

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Reference
"A Day In the Life of a Pediatric Oncologist | Page 1." A Day In the Life of a Pediatric
Oncologist | Page 1. OncLive, 9 Mar. 2011. Web. 13 Sep. 2015.
< "A Day In the Life of a Pediatric Oncologist | Page 1." A Day In the Life of a Pediatric
Oncologist | Page 1. OncLive, 9 Mar. 2011. Web. 13 Sep. 2015.>.