Two women battled cancer as kids; one inspired the other to follow in her footsteps to become a nurse. Both are colleagues at Children’s Hospital New Orleans (CHNOLA).
Laura Shinn, RN – Hematology/Oncology/HSCT Nurse Navigator at CHNOLA, says she went into nursing and specifically oncology because she just felt that there was this need to take the medical path. She was diagnosed with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma in May 1987 and finished treatment shortly before her ninth birthday.
Jenna Cavalero is a nurse technician in her second year at Delgado Charity School of Nursing. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in October 2011 and was 12 years old when she went through nine months of chemo and several surgeries and was Shinn’s patient. She knew she wanted to be a nurse since the end of her cancer treatment.
“I feel like I connect more with these kids because of what I went through as a cancer patient. I remember being in their shoes, how I liked to be treated in certain instances, and seeing a little glimmer of light up inside them. It reassures them that they can beat cancer, they can conquer the disease, and hopefully come out on the other side,” says Cavalero
Our interview with Laura Shinn and Jenna Cavalero follows, edited for length and clarity.
Where did you go to nursing school, and why did you become a nurse?
Shinn: Mississippi College School of Nursing. I graduated from nursing school in May of 2005. For the third time, I decided to change my major to nursing because I felt this need to give back and help others in the same position I was in as a child. To show them the caring, compassion, and dedication provided to me as a cancer patient.
Cavalero: I am in my second year at Delgado Charity School of Nursing and will graduate in May 2024. I officially decided to be a nurse when I attended orientation at the first university I attended. Environmental science was my major, and I immediately switched to nursing. However, I knew from the moment I seriously considered career paths in high school. Nothing interested me more, even when I was not fully committed to being a nurse.
When I was going through cancer treatment, so many of the nurses who took care of me became family to me, and I want to be that for the patients I treat in the future. I bonded with many of the nurses and am still in contact with them because of their huge impact on my heart. I have always loved helping people and working with kids, so when I finally sat down and put all the pieces together, the decision to go to nursing school was a no-brainer.
What are your career goals when you graduate?
Cavalero: After graduation, I would love to start my career at CHNOLA, and from there, I would like to see where life takes me. I would love to be a travel nurse one day, but right now, my focus is on graduation, and I will figure out the rest as I go.
What does working in the same hospital as the nurse who cared for you as a child mean to you?
Cavalero: The feeling is surreal. The hospital has had a complete makeover since I was treated, so it looks very different, but so much of it feels the same to me. When I first started working at CHNOLA, I had a lot of memories rushing back to me from when I was treated, both happy and sad. I am grateful for the opportunity to have this job that I love, and I cannot wait to be a registered nurse. I used to joke around with some of the nurses I grew close to, saying things like, “You’ll see me here in ten years sitting behind the nurse’s station,” that dream becoming a reality is so exciting.
How does it make you feel knowing you inspired Jenna’s career path?
Shinn: Knowing I had any influence on Jenna’s career path is very humbling. You go into nursing to provide these young patients with the best care possible, but you rarely think of your care impacting and inspiring their future. It motivates me to be the best nurse and example I can be so she can strive for and surpass my illustration.
How did Laura inspire you to follow in her footsteps?
Cavalero: Laura has always been a great representation of how I would like to be as a nurse. She is kind, thoughtful, goofy, and joyful, and many other qualities make her great. Laura is always full of smiles whenever she walks into a room and works hard. Watching the way she takes care of patients and works with other members of staff is something I admire about her.
How is/did your nursing education prepare you for your role as a Hematology/Oncology/HSCT Nurse Navigator?
Shinn: My nursing education prepared me for the basic, essential tasks of nursing, such as taking vital signs, but the on-the-job experience teaches you how to apply those basic textbook skills to your patient and hour-to-hour activities. In school, you learn how to take blood pressure and what a normal range is, but the on-the-job experience trains you to know when that pressure is life-threatening and requires immediate attention. What you learn in school is very important because it is the base to grow the knowledge that will be imparted to you during your career. But textbooks and clinicals won’t teach you to care and have compassion for your patient. To know what and how to cheer them up or improve their experience and when to sit and be present and supportive.
How is/did your nursing education prepare you for your role as a nurse technician?
Cavalero: My education has prepared me by knowing background information for the different disease processes the patients on my unit have and why they are being treated the way they are.
How has having cancer as a young child and the kindness you both share for each other helped you forge an unbreakable bond with each other?
Shinn: To see someone you have helped reach a pivotal point in their life, whether it be simply remission or seeing them become a nurse, knowing they went through a similar journey, rewards you in the most significant way possible in this career. It’s a bond that cannot be broken or understood by anyone else. The smile says, “I know, and I know you know,” and fills your heart with warmth and joy. This is the bond Jenna and I will always have.
Cavalero: Deciding to disclose my medical history with a family is something I have yet to do often. I can imagine Laura was the same way when talking about her history. It’s a powerful thing that she shared with me and showed me that my thoughts of wanting to be a nurse when I got older could be a reality. Knowing that our situations were not the same but a little similar made Laura easier to talk to when I was having tough days because I knew that, on some level, she understood.
How does this bond translate to your patients?
Shinn: For me, our bond serves as a reminder to ensure every patient receives the best care possible. Not only physical care but providing the emotional care and support the patient and family need during their journey. One day, no matter what career path they choose, at least one positive thing you provided will remain with them and pass that same care on to the next person.
What is it like giving back to the profession that helped you as children?
Shinn: It is incredibly gratifying to provide care for the current patients in the same institution, with some of the same physicians who cared for me. It has been a dream of mine since I was young to be able to return to Children’s as a member of its staff, and now I can check that one off of my list.
Cavalero: Helping children is all I have ever wanted to do, and getting closer to graduation and being able to do that for my career is very exciting. I love my job as a nurse technician. I love going to work, learning from the nurses, and seeing all the patients. I am excited to be what all of the nurses who treated me were for me to someone else.
How do your personal experiences help you care for your patients?
Shinn: I try to remember how I was treated, how I would have liked to have been treated, and what I would have liked to have known as a patient, and apply it to my daily practice in a manner that is age and learning appropriate for the patient.
Cavalero: My personal experiences help me understand how they feel on good and bad days. A cancer diagnosis is scary for everyone involved, so being able to help in any way that I can is all I have ever wanted to do.
What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
Shinn: It is one of the most rewarding experiences. All jobs have their good days and bad days, but in the end, seeing a child ring the bell at the end of their therapy or walk out of the clinic’s front door for the last time makes it the best job in the world.
Cavalero: Seeing my patients smile and having a good day while in the hospital is always a good feeling, but the most rewarding is watching them leave the unit when they are discharged to go home because they are always so happy. That makes my heart happy.
