Robbie Simpson Fellowship for the Advanced Practice Nurse in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology

The Robbie Simpson Fellowship at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital provides the advanced practice nurse with detailed knowledge and experience regarding the diagnosis, management and long-term follow-up of pediatric hematology and oncology patients. Three-month fellowships are awarded to eligible applicants each fall, September through November.

Fellowship Objectives

As an advanced practice nurse fellow, you will:

• Develop a comprehensive knowledge base of pediatric oncologic and hematologic diseases, their management, and related healthcare issues.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the medical management of nausea and vomiting, pain, febrile neutropenia and bacterial/viral/fungal infections in immunocompromised patients.
• Provide direct care to patients with a variety of hematologic and oncologic diagnoses.
  • Perform a thorough systems-based history and physical exam.
  • Integrate disease management and protocol standards to create a plan of care for the patient and family.
  • Provide patients and families with pertinent education and anticipatory guidance regarding disease, treatments and medications.
  • Perform procedures such as lumbar punctures, bone marrow aspirates and biopsies under the supervision of an experienced mentor.
• Examine the advanced practice nurse's role(s) in providing comprehensive care to pediatric patients with cancer and their families.
  • Identify factors that may facilitate, hinder or affect the independence and collaboration necessary for this role within the multi-disciplinary clinical setting.
• Acquire an understanding of evidence-based clinical practice by exploring and analyzing standard protocols, current research and other sources of evidence related to childhood malignancies.
  • Apply this understanding to implementation of protocols in clinical practice.
  • Provide guidance to patients and families regarding adherence to protocols.
  • Complete a scholarly project that addresses the advanced practice nurse’s role and the translation of evidence into clinical practice.