Why I Do What I Do
Pediatric oncology nurse Ellen Rice, who knew she wanted to go into nursing in the fourth grade, discusses the challenges and rewards of working in the Inpatient Unit.

I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a nurse. But it wasn't until high school, after reading Death Be Not Proud, that I knew I wanted my focus to be pediatric oncology. Reading about the main character, a young child facing a life-threatening illness, made me want to work in a job where I could help real kids facing such challenges.

Working on the pediatric floor at MSKCC can be so rewarding. It is a joy to see all the kids who come through here and who do well, watching them as they go on to live long, happy, and healthy lives.

For me, I gravitated toward hematology-oncology because of the opportunity it provided for continuity of care. Treatments can last months, or even years, and during that time you have a chance to develop real relationships with your patients. That was essential to me -- that I could get to know these kids and their families in order to help them in the best way possible.  

But the most rewarding part of my job is the same as the most challenging part. It is the relationships I develop with the kids and their families.  To be with them at the start, when they begin their treatment, and go all the way through to the end, which is either cure, or, for a minority of patients, death, is what it's all about. The bravery and courage that these kids show in the face of adversity is awe-inspiring. And for the most part kids just want to be kids -- playing bingo, waiting for the candy cart, and laughing.

Why I do what I do
Paulette Kelly, a nurse practitioner working in the pediatric sarcoma program, talks about her career helping kids with cancer. (pictured)

I decided to become a nurse after I decided not to become an engineer. I knew that I liked people, and I knew there was a lot of human interaction in nursing, which would not be available in engineering. During the first six months of nursing school, my mother died of cancer. This motivated me to work in oncology. I like working in oncology because it allows you a chance to make a real connection with patients. I wanted to give my patients the best day, week, or month of wellness, regardless of the state of their cancer.

After two years working in adult oncology, I was ready to transition to pediatric oncology. I had begun to see the resiliency in kids with cancer. They have a different attitude. If they're alive, they are living fully, even during treatment. They still want to play and have fun. They want to feel better. Treatment is just part of their lives.

As part of MSKCC’s pediatric sarcoma team, I now work with mostly teenagers, and I like working with them because they're bright and funny, and they all think they're going to beat the odds, which is very important. As a general rule, teenagers don't believe they can ever die. And then a diagnosis is made and they suddenly realize they can. But the patients I've met over the years have wanted to live so badly and, at the same time, have fun. All of them have had dreams about what they want to do in life, and I see it as an important part of my job to help them with this difficult phase so that they can get on to those dreams.

In general, the most rewarding part of nursing is developing real connections with the kids and their families, and using those connections to help them with their treatment choices. But the biggest reward is when an individual I helped to treat as a teenager comes back as a healthy adult. That's a living, breathing, walking reward.

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