Oncology Nursing Scholars Pilot Inspires Future Cancer Care Leaders

Kayla McKenna, BSN, a recent graduate of Northeastern University, was shadowing Dana-Farber‘s neuro-oncology clinical research nurses when everything she learned in the classroom started to click.

McKenna was in her senior year as an undergraduate nursing student when she joined the Oncology Nursing Scholars Program, an initiative between Dana-Farber and Northeastern. This was a well-timed opportunity for her to get hands-on clinical and research experience before graduation.

McKenna was one of 10 students selected for the inaugural cohort of the program, which ran from January-April 2026. This collaborative effort set out to address two major challenges within oncology nursing care: a rising incidence of cancer that requires specialized expertise and a nationwide shortage of nursing programs that include opportunities for clinical research and oncology exposure.

Building the Future of Oncology Nursing

The Oncology Nursing Scholars Program is part of a comprehensive, multi-year plan between Dana-Farber and Northeastern to continue integrating oncology content into educational curricula. The initiative also serves as a pipeline for future oncology nursing talent, helping to prepare nurses to meet growing cancer care needs and support staffing for the Lavine Bekenstein Cancer Hospital at Dana-Farber, set to open in 2031.

Kristen Legor, PhD, RN, helped oversee the pilot program. “The likelihood that a nurse will care for a patient with cancer at some point in their career is extremely high,“ says Legor, vice president and associate chief nurse for Clinical Research Nursing Operations at Dana-Farber and affiliate assistant professor at Northeastern‘s School of Nursing. “We are working with Northeastern to determine how we can thread oncology content more meaningfully throughout a nursing curriculum so new professionals are more adequately prepared when they encounter these patients.”

The curriculum was designed by Legor; Rachel Pozzar, PhD, APRN, associate director of the center‘s Bioinformatics and Technology Core and associate professor at Northeastern‘s School of Nursing; Lauren Spendley, DNP, AGNP-BC, associate clinical professor at Northeastern‘s School of Nursing and former Dana-Farber nurse practitioner; Marilyn Hammer, PhD, RN, director of Dana-Farber‘s Phyllis F. Cantor Center for Research in Nursing and Patient Care Services and professor at Northeastern‘s School of Nursing; and Jane Saczynski, PhD, professor and assistant dean of research at Northeastern‘s School of Nursing. Pozzar and Spendley are co-directors of the program.

“I am eager for us as a School of Nursing to be at the forefront of systematic integration of oncology content into the nursing curriculum,“ says Spendley. “The partnership we share with Dana-Farber is allowing us to do this in multiple forums, including in the classroom and through the specialized Oncology Nursing Scholars Program.”

Students were involved with evidence-based practice projects, existing research with nurse scientists, and shadowing opportunities with clinical research nurses. When the program initially launched, 40 students submitted applications, confirming a strong interest in this learning model.

The program structure created an environment where students were encouraged to experiment and ask questions in a more intimate setting. “Students crave faculty interaction,“ comments Pozzar. “Building relationships with students is what helps facilitate true learning.“

Meaningful Career Discoveries

After just one semester, the program‘s impact exceeded expectations. Students reported discovering career paths they had never previously considered, with many expressing a newfound interest in oncology nursing and clinical research.

“I observed nurses help advocate for a patient to continue receiving investigational therapy even after the clinical trial had closed – a decision that ultimately led to the tumor shrinking,“ McKenna recalls. “Seeing the nurses, physicians, researchers, and other care team members in action gave me a deeper appreciation for the complexity of cancer care and showed me firsthand the difference that nurses can make in patients‘ lives.”

In its trial run, the students came from a variety of educational backgrounds and experiences, and faculty played an integral role in meeting each student where they were. Connor Adsit, BSN, who graduated from Northeastern earlier this year, is a career changer, pivoting from software engineering to nursing with an interest in leveraging his technical background into his nursing practice. Alongside Hammer, he explored this intersection within precision health while using predictive artificial intelligence tools to examine the association of other chronic health issues with cancer.

“When a patient has cancer, it‘s not just a diagnosis,” says Adsit. “The full picture is much more complex. For my project, I wanted to explore the relationships between cancer and other chronic conditions, of which there are many. It was eye-opening to rethink nursing care as being essential in providing a more holistic approach to the experiences of patients with cancer.”

Student feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and many participants now say they are considering careers in oncology nursing or clinical research. For program leaders, that outcome signals progress toward a larger goal: building the next generation of nurses equipped to advance cancer care.

“This is precisely the kind of scholarly opportunity we envisioned when we joined forces with Northeastern University‘s Bouvé College of Health Sciences,“ says Anne Gross, PhD, RN, FAAN, senior vice president for Patient Care Services, chief nursing officer, and the Ning Zhao Chair of Nursing at Dana-Farber. “It‘s a win-win for both of us and for the future of the nursing profession.”

As the team prepares for the next cohort, they are encouraged by the pilot‘s success. “Our hope was for the students to get an introduction to nursing science through experiential learning and Northeastern‘s signature approach to education, research, and innovation,“ says Hammer. “The outcome was above and beyond learning just the basics, and the energy and enthusiasm were even greater than we anticipated.”