What is the Role of the Oncology Nurse Leader in Building Oncology Nursing Capacity in Malawi?

As someone who wanted to make others smile, I realized that nursing was the only profession that could help me achieve my purpose. The realization of my love of nursing unfolded when I entered the Kamuzu College of Nursing in 2008. As a nursing student, I wanted to provide excellent nursing care. In my third year of my BScN studies, I had a clinical home-based rotation in Lilongwe, Malawi, where I was introduced to chronically ill patients. I realized that this chronically ill population was the most neglected in Malawi, similar to populations in other sub-Saharan African countries. My exposure to home-based community care redirected my passion to this population. After graduating with my BScN, I worked in a hospital's intensive care unit for two years, where I gained advanced skills and experience in the care of critically ill patients. My interest in oncology nursing began when I cared for a pediatric patient with Burkitt lymphoma who had large masses on the head and died from nasal bleeding. I felt that I did not have the knowledge to care for this patient and felt defeated. From that experience, I desired more knowledge about cancer, which led me to oncology nursing.