International Nurses Day: an Interview with Ellen Hoyt

Today is International Nurses Day and as we celebrate the incredible Nursing team in the Children’s Cancer Unit, we have a special interview to share with Ellen Hoyt, one of the nurses working on the ward.

What makes Ellen’s story all the more special is that she was one of the three 2024 CCUC International Travel scholars who benefitted from a once in a lifetime visit to the Aflac Cancer & Blood Disorders Center in Atlanta to experience life in the leading cancer unit there. She and her fellow students also got a first-hand insight into life as a student nurse at Emory University.

We were thrilled to learn that Ellen had taken up a full-time post in the Children’s Cancer Unit at the beginning of this year, following her graduation. This really reinforced the reason why we began our partnership with Queen’s University School of Nursing and Midwifery and choose to fund this incredible travel programme.

Several months into her new role, it’s very clear to see Ellen’s enthusiasm and passion for her job and it’s wonderful to hear that she’s now putting the knowledge and experience that she gained from the Travel Programme and her final University placement in the Unit into practise in her first full time role caring for children and young people on the ward. Here, Ellen tells us more about her career journey and all the things she loves about her job.

What is your role in the Children’s Cancer Unit and how long have you been working there?

I joined the ward in January 2025 as a newly qualified Band 5 children’s nurse. I was very lucky to complete the final placement of my Masters in Nursing in the Children’s Cancer Unit and then I continued doing bank work there once my placement finished. Once I graduated last November, I was delighted to accept a role in CHU.

Describe a typical day or night shift.

The day shift begins at 7.30am with a handover from the night staff. We’re given an overview of all the patients on the ward and then assigned the children or young adults that we’ll each be responsible for- it’s usually two or three per shift. We’ll get breakfasts sorted and then my job is to check vitals, administer medications. A lot of our patients will be receiving IV fluids, so there’s a lot of checks and observation involved with those. I’m not qualified to give chemo yet so another big part of my role is making sure the patients are comfortable and have everything they need.

Night shift is pretty similar but it’s a lot quieter and we’ll try and do a lot of the checks, medications, etc at the same time to keep sleep disruptions to a minimum. Night shift is nice as sometimes you get more opportunities to talk to the children or young adults or even the parents who are awake and often that’s where a lot of the relationships are built. When it’s quiet and peaceful, they will often open up a bit more and we’ll have some great conversations.

What do you love most about your job?

Anyone who knows me knows how obsessed I am with my job- I absolutely love it and I’m so lucky to work with an amazing team.

Without a doubt the best part of my job is the relationships that I’ve built with the kids, particularly the teenagers. I’ve been able to form a lot of really meaningful relationships with them and feel like I’ve known some of them a long time from doing my placement and bank shifts previously. As a student I often had more time than the nurses to forge those relationships as they would have been completing medication rounds. So sometimes I’ll just sit with them and listen to music, watch some YouTube or just have a chat.

What do you find most challenging about your job?

The hardest part is seeing the kids so unwell, particularly at the start of their treatment when they’re at their sickest. A lot of them develop mucositis during the first few weeks of treatment and are really miserable so it’s hard seeing them so weak and vulnerable. You feel terrible for having to poke and prod them during checks as you don’t want to make them feel any worse, but so much of our role is to reassure them that things will get better.

Tell us a bit about your background and how did you arrive in this role?

I did my Undergrad degree in Psychology at Ulster University and worked for a few years with adults who had learning disabilities and mental health issues. Then I went back to study Nursing at Queen’s as they had brought out a new two-year Masters course. I didn’t really know too much about haematology and oncology, but I had been to the student children’s cancer conference in Queens which was amazing and then I was lucky enough to land a placement in the Children’s Cancer Unit where I spent time on the ward an in the clinic. I was able to stay on doing bank work on the ward after my placement was over and just loved my time there, so I was delighted when the full-time role came up after I’d graduated.

Tell us about your experience of the CCUC International Travel Programme- how did it inspire you to pursue a career in paediatric Oncology nursing?

It was an absolutely phenomenal experience, I loved it. Aside from the work end of it, getting to visit Atlanta, Georgia was amazing. We spent time visiting the universities over there and it was so good to see all the different styles of learning that they have and the massive range of equipment they have. It’s like Queen’s simulation lab except on the scale of Grey’s Anatomy as it’s just so big! Because they had so much equipment available, we were able to play with a lot of different devices, like pumps and ports and it was great to be up close with something that we just wouldn’t see as much at home. Because the hospital has such a huge catchment area, everything just felt like it was on such a bigger scale- the wards were huge. There were separate wards within Oncology, all specialising in different areas and separate infusion clinics which gave me a real insight into specialist areas that we just wouldn’t get to see. I got to spend time in the bone marrow clinic and got to witness two bone marrow transplants which was really special.

Given the cultural differences and sheer scale of the hospital, we were able to see so many different conditions that we wouldn’t really see at home, Sickle Cell being one. It’s not something you see much of over here but it was really common there and it really enhanced my understanding of the condition.

One of the big things I’ve taken from my time in Atlanta was how the team went above and beyond to make a big deal out of small things. So even if it was a basic procedure, they really made it special for the children- whether it was a big banner for completing a medication or treatment or a song or big cheer when they’d managed to tolerate something a bit scary. I’m trying to introduce a bit more of that one the ward.

What advice would you have for current nursing students and would you recommend applying for the CCUC Travel Programme?

I would absolutely recommend it- take every opportunity that comes your way. I know some students are a bit unsure about these things but the worst that can happen is that you don’t get it.

For any students about to start placement or graduates starting their new jobs, my advice would be not to go in with any preconceived ideas, especially around Haematology and Oncology. A lot of people automatically think of palliative or end of life care but the ward is actually one of the happiest places in the whole world! It has to be. I would say be open minded and give yourself grace. Haematology and Oncology is a specialist world and there’s a huge amount to take in, so don’t be afraid to ask questions.