careers in cancer

Do you want to combine your love of science with the chance to help people?

A Staff Nurse is a registered nurse who provides high quality care to their patients. Most cancer care nurses will start their career in a general nursing role before choosing a role in cancer such as specialising in caring for teenagers and young adults (TYA) with cancer, like Nicky in our video. Staff nurses may support their patients from diagnosis, through treatment and beyond.

As a Staff Nurse in cancer care you are most likely to:

  • be based on a ward as part of a multidisciplinary team
  • assess and monitor your patients both physically and emotionally
  • perform and record clinical observations including blood pressure and temperature
  • safely administer medicines, fluid and treatments as required
  • support both your patients and their families with their needs
  • keep track of laboratory pathology and imaging required for your patients

Entry Requirements

Always check the individual course requirements but as a rule you will need at least five A-C/9-4 grade GCSE’s including English, maths and a science
You will also need at least two (preferably three) A-Levels including Biology

Training Routes

The most common route into nursing is by completing a nursing degree, you can select adult or children and young peoples nursing.
You may also be able to train via a nursing apprenticeship degree.
If you are not ready to think about a degree, an alternative career route would be to progress through other roles building up to your nursing degree. Roles to consider include Healthcare Assistant followed by a Nursing Associate.

Our local providers of nursing degrees include:

University links (training route)

Bournemouth University

Winchester University

University of Portsmouth

Solent University

Key Skills

Nurses should have an interest in science and a desire to work clinically with people to improve their health and wellbeing. Nurses need be able to work as part of a team, be flexible and good at managing time. They also need to be great communicators and have the ability to solve problems and remain calm under pressure.

Career Development

Nurses have endless development opportunities within Cancer Care both for adults and children, teenagers, and young adults. You may choose to specialise in a specific area such as urology or colorectal cancers, or you could access further development and training to apply for roles such as a SACT Nurse, Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist or Cancer Care Matron.

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