Faces of Oncology Care: Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants
The oncology team members at the Northwell Health Cancer Institute provide cancer care to more New Yorkers than any other health care provider. And with so many patients trusting the Northwell Health Cancer Institute for their treatments, our advanced clinical providers are helping make a difference on a large scale. Our nurse practitioners and physician assistants aren’t just helping our patients survive, they’re helping them thrive.
Meet some of our advanced clinical providers below and hear what makes them passionate about working in oncology care.
Working at Northwell for more than 20 years, Keara has dedicated more than half of those to oncology care. As a PA, she embraces the fact that she has the opportunity to change lives of those facing a cancer diagnosis.
“I’m no different from everyone else,” she says. “Cancer touched my life at a young age when my grandfather battled and eventually lost his life due to metastatic colon cancer. That experience changed me in a way that would shape my life.”
Being a PA allows Keara to not only deliver care to her patients, but to be there for them: “In addition to being a part of fascinating scientific discoveries, I am able to ease a patient’s fear and give them hope. I bring smiles, comfort, compassion, hugs and even laughter back into their world. We treat cancer like a chronic illness, not a terminal illness.”
Having worked in oncology outside of Northwell, Keara knows there’s no place like Northwell. “I saw firsthand how differently we care for our patients and their families through unparalleled compassion, empathy and genuine concern. I have had the opportunity to work alongside some of the most wonderful nurses, doctors, and support staff I could have ever hoped for.”
Jennie Hernandez has worked at Northwell for four years at the Monter Cancer Center where she specializes in gynecologic medical oncology.
For Jennie, choosing oncology as her specialty was clear. “I always knew I would end up working in oncology,” she says. “There are a lot of exciting advancements being made and I want to be part of finding a cure for cancer.”
At Northwell, Jennie feels empowered as part of a close team that is always researching and going the extra mile to provide patients with the best care and treatment options. “Working here has helped me develop into the PA I have always wanted to be. The opportunities to help patients with the resources we have are endless and we continue to do more.”
It’s not just innovative treatments and research that makes her job worth it, but the people. In a specialty that can be emotionally difficult, Jennie finds the relationships she develops with her patients are what makes her job so special. “I could not imagine doing anything else because of the relationships I get to create with my patients and their families,” she says. “I feel like they are my family. It’s a close relationship that helps us both get through every day to make the next day an even better one.”
Starting her Northwell career as a nurse in the MICU at North Shore University Hospital (NSUH) in 2011, Eva McLoughlin made the decision to return to school to become an NP.
The intricacy of bone marrow transplants piqued her interest in oncology and brought her to Monter Cancer Center after she graduated. There she works delivering care on the bone marrow transplant team: “As an NP on the bone marrow transplant team, I am able to help ensure patients have the best quality of life in their time of need.”
Eva takes pride in the fact that her actions are able to change not only a patient’s condition but their outlook. “Every day I have the opportunity to influence a patient’s life in a positive way,” she says.
With 11 years of nursing experience in breast and gynecologic cancer, Elena Palau knows the difference advanced clinical providers can make for their patients. Starting her career as a registered nurse, Elena is now the supervising nurse practitioner at Monter.
“Oncology is a dynamic practice,” says Elena. “It is difficult for the family and patient undergoing treatment and its related side effects but what is gratifying is that with excellent treatments, you may see the patient’s disease respond.”
At Monter, she finds it rewarding to work with the entire oncology care team: “I work with excellent oncologists, nurses and administrative leaders who value my work, opinion, and leadership commitment. To her the most important part of oncology care is, of course, her patients. “It’s important to make the patients understand that you care and to hear what they are saying. As an NP, I can offer clinical help and it’s very rewarding when treatment is successful.”
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Faces of Oncology Care: Northwell Health Cancer Institute Research Nurses
As one of the largest cancer programs in the New York metropolitan area, the Northwell Health Cancer Institute treats more New Yorkers for cancer than any other health care provider. With the trust of so many, our oncology team members work passionately to help patients thrive.
Unique partnerships such as with the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, help this goal as Northwell’s research nurses have the opportunity to work on innovative clinical trials that provide patients with the most promising treatments. And beyond just providing care, their compassion is changing the lives of our patients and their families.
Meet some of our inspiring research nurses below and hear what makes them passionate about oncology research.
Having worked at Northwell Health since 1987, Diane has been a registered nurse in various specialties including post-partum, nursery, medical/surgical, telemetry, and cardiovascular.
But Diane’s interest in clinical research was always in oncology research. “I lost my oldest sister to cancer when I was 12 years old. I witnessed firsthand the impact a cancer diagnosis can have on an entire family. The respect and dignity that was shown to my sister and our family still resonates within me to this day,” says Diane. “That is what inspired me to become a nurse and Northwell Health enabled me to fulfill my dream including earning my bachelor’s degree in 2016.”
This passion for oncology care has only strengthened since she’s become a research nurse “I love working in oncology because each day I have the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life. I come to work knowing that inside this building we have the ability to change lives forever through clinical research. Clinical research is important because it works to find better ways to prevent, detect, or treat cancer and learn new approaches to therapy.”
Beyond just the clinical trials that Diane works on every day to help improve the lives of patients with cancer, she is also a leadership committee member for the Long Island chapter of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (NOCC). Through her volunteering, Diane is very active in helping spread awareness of the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer with the hope to empower women to advocate for their own health.
Her commitment to research, care and education have not gone unnoticed. In 2017 she was recognized as an NOCC Nurse Honoree as well as being recognized as the Northwell Health Clinical Research Nurse of the Year in 2018. But for Diane, it’s very rewarding seeing the impact her work has on patients.
“I look forward to seeing my patients and their families share their life stories. Seeing them celebrate milestones in their lives and knowing it is because they are in a clinical trial is a gift to me.”
Julia started her Northwell nursing career at Monter Cancer Center where she worked as an oncology research nurse on the solid tumor team. In 2017, she transitioned into a new role as a phase 1 research nurse where she cares for patients that are being treated for the first time in their trials.
Julia started as a rehabilitation nurse caring for a large number of oncology patients, and thought her skills could transition into another area of nursing. “I felt that there was something larger out there to fulfill my curiosity and desire in healthcare. Oncology is continuously changing with respect to knowledge, learning, research, treatments and opportunities,” says Julia. “I felt that this field could feed my curiosity and at the same time satisfy my desire to help my patients.”
As an oncology research nurse, Julia is always looking for new and improved treatments with a commitment to helping enhance her patient’s quality of life. In her position, Julia is able to work with innovative treatment modalities and drug combinations that have not been tried yet. “It’s very exciting and rewarding knowing that I am part of creating history.”
And her passion extends beyond research – just a few short months after starting at Northwell, she was awarded with the Patient Recognition Star. “This recognition demonstrated that even the smallest thing we do for our patients means a lot to them,” says Julia.
After receiving her Master of Science in Nursing, Shirley started her clinical research career at Northwell in 2003 initially, as a clinical research nurse practitioner in pulmonary medicine.
In 2015 Shirley returned to research and today is a clinical research nurse for the Breast/GYN Research team at Monter Cancer Center (MCC). “My mother was a breast cancer survivor and I felt this position would allow me to add a very personal touch to the clinical aspect of my job when working with and caring for patients and families,” says Shirley. “Having the privilege to participate in another person’s healthcare journey motivates me to deliver the best patient care. My mother’s journey with breast cancer reminds me that my actions can have a powerful impact on the lives of a patient and their family during an emotionally stressful time.”
Her dedication, ability to establish deep therapeutic bonds and empathize with patients was recognized when Shirley was awarded the 2017 Northwell Care Award during MCC’s patient experience week. Shirley was also invited to be a mentor in the Northwell Health Clinical Research Professional Mentorship program.
Shirley enjoys working as a clinical research nurse and because of the role’s versatility, she is able to represent Northwell Health as a member of the Symptom Intervention Committee for the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology national group and also conducts breast cancer awareness information sessions in the community.
When she first started in oncology, Shirley met a patient who changed her life: “When I met the patient and her husband, she shared her personal wish, which made me feel honored to be taking part in her care. She was determined to live long enough to see her son go to his prom.” This instant connection Shirley had with her patient strengthened her passion and with each study visit, Shirley and her patient became closer and developed a bond.
“The most memorable part of her treatment was when she came in and showed me the pictures of her son’s prom,” says Shirley. “She beamed with delight as she told me how she helped her son get ready for the big night. I was overcome with a sense of joy and satisfaction knowing I had been a part of helping her achieve this goal. My role in clinical trials research had given this patient hope. I will never forget her and can never thank her enough because this patient and my mother represent that even just one moment can matter.”
Shirley says “the possibilities are endless as a clinical research nurse” and looks forward to what the future has to offer at Northwell.
Are you Made for delivering oncology care? Learn more about the Northwell Health Cancer Institute.
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From the Cancer Institute to a tertiary hospital – my internship experience
Written by: Alexa Bernardini, 2016 & 2017 HMP Intern
If it had not been for the Office of Undergraduate Biology at my university, I would have never been exposed to the opportunity to apply for Northwell Health’s Healthcare Management Program (HMP). After visiting the office to discuss career opportunities that would combine my passions for the biological sciences and business, a student advisor raved about her experience working for Northwell Health and mentioned I should look into the HMP program. As a sophomore, it was rare to find an internship opportunity that delved into the world of healthcare administration and enabled me to work with so many different departments throughout the health system.
I started my Northwell Health journey at Monter Cancer Center, where I was able to gather resources to build an internal website for Cancer Institute members across all sites. By leading this project, I interacted with many departments such as finance and operations, cancer research, and academic affairs among many others. One of my favorite parts about this project was being able to meet leaders throughout the facility who graciously welcomed me to the team and were happy to answer all of my questions to further my learning and engagement. Our goal was to develop the Cancer Institute as a unified and prominent entity for cancer treatment, research, and education. The first step to achieving this goal was having a place for all Cancer Institute employees to access to information regarding clinical trials, Continuing Medical Education events, cancer conferences, and community outreach initiatives. When my internship ended, I still followed up regarding the progress of my project, and loved knowing that I added value throughout my time at Monter Cancer Center.
Upon reaching my junior year of college, I was able to apply what I had learned at Northwell Health to my courses and campus organizations. As I reflected on what I had learned during my internship, I knew I wanted to return to Northwell Health the next summer at a different site to absorb even more information from a different perspective. Fortunately, I was given the opportunity to once again join the HMP program, where I am currently spending my summer in the hospital operations department of Long Island Jewish Medical Center. I have learned that I enjoy working in both atmospheres, LIJ as a large tertiary hospital and Monter Cancer Center as a smaller, outpatient cancer treatment facility. Something I love about the HMP program is that there are so many different sites throughout the health system that participate in the program, and I can hear about other interns’ experiences who are placed at different locations. While at LIJ Medical Center, our team has been collaborating with the team at North Shore University Hospital to work on a hypothetical business case regarding the Pre-Surgical Testing (PST) care model. Our goal was to design an off-site location that combined two of the region’s existing centers. This theoretical project has been a great learning experience to identify what goals a project of this size would want to accomplish, such as the desire to maximize operational efficiencies, standardize procedures, and ultimately create a more positive patient experience. We took the time to plan, shadow their processes on-site, and combine the best practices of both PST locations to create a care model that features an ideal blueprint of the new space, taking into account estimated patient volume and length of stay.
After spending two consecutive summers as part of the Northwell team, I have learned that working in healthcare administration across sites has the common theme of integrating departments and unifying their workflow processes and workplace culture.
Update: Alexa has been offered and accepted a full-time position once she graduates from Cornell University in May.
Submit your resume to become a Summer Associate in the 2018 Healthcare Management Program Internship.
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If you are an individual with a disability requesting an accommodation for the application process, please click the contact us link above to request assistance.
© 2019 - Northwell Health
Click here to view the “EEO is the law” poster
It is the policy of Northwell Health to provide equal employment opportunity and treat all employees equally regardless of age, race, creed/religion, color, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, sex/gender, gender identity, gender expression, disability, generic information or genetic predisposition or carrier status, marital status, partnership status, victim of domestic violence, or other characteristics protected by applicable law. Northwell Health leaders, including the CEO, are committed to the principles of Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action.
