Colin Thomas, MSW, BSN, RN
Area of specialty: Pediatric Oncology  

 

" I find that being a nurse in a chronic hospitalization setting, the kids really like my company... I’m “way cool” as one of my patients recently informed me. "

I have held many careers prior to being a nurse.  I have been a car salesman, a business to business phone salesman, a camp counselor, a clinical social worker, a hospice social worker, an administrator, a student, and finally - a nurse.  I finally found my niche in nursing.

The ability to connect to a family or a child in their most desperate times drives me to succeed in pediatric nursing.  I currently work on 7 Mott, the pediatric hematology/oncology unit of the Mott Children’s Hospital.  Our patients range from birth to mid to late twenties and their length of stay can range from days to many months.  It is common for our oncology patients to have frequent visits for multiple days.  Common admissions include chemotherapy and the complications related to cancer and for symptom management of those issues.  As you can imagine, this is a challenging population to work with because of issues surrounding cancer and at times, the death of children.

I chose 7 Mott to start my career in oncological nursing because of these aspects.  It is a challenging position that builds clinical expertise, allows me to perfect my nursing assessments and planning skills as well as hone in on interpersonal skills from my former degree programs.  Additionally, I find that being a nurse in a chronic hospitalization setting, the kids really like my company and respect me.  As a general rule, the mom is the parent that usually stays with the kids while hospitalized - so being that male role model for my patients additionally drives me; besides the fact that I’m “way cool” as one of my patients recently informed me.

I enjoy nursing as a whole.  While I’ve considered medical school as well as physician assistant programs, nursing is what appeals to me most.  I believe whole-heartedly in the UM system and having obtained my BSN, MSW (and am now working on my Pediatric Nurse Practitioner degree), from The University of Michigan.  I pretty much bleed maize and blue now and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Career Connections

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