How do you feel this role as an oncology nurse will differ from your current or past nursing roles?
Nursing in the oncology and cancer care setting is a very different world from a lot of other clinical settings. Depending on the experience you bring to the table, your interviewer may pose this question just to gauge your thoughts on how this role will be different and that you are fully prepared for this new setting. Using your experience in other settings, openly point out ways that you are familiar with doing things in the clinical setting and how joining this oncology nursing team will be different. The key to your answer here is to let your interviewer know that you are aware of the differences and that you are excited to tackle new challenges in helping to provide the best care for patients.
"I really appreciate this question. As you can see from my resume, the first six years of my career have been spent in the primary care setting and I've loved my time working with the adult and geriatric patient populations on varying health issues. Seeing some of my patients go through cancer care, surviving and thriving, has driven me into this career path, but I'm not naive to think that I have all of the knowledge and experience needed. Stepping into this role as an oncology nurse will require a new focus during patient appointments and I'm excited to learn how your team provides education on care to patients. I think another big difference will be working with patients receiving long-term treatments and the administration of chemotherapy. While I'm familiar with basic outpatient procedures, starting IVs and other basic nursing skills, I'm excited and ready to take on these new responsibilities as a nurse on this team."
