Absolutely. The sadness fades away with time, experience, and exposure. It definitely gets easier. The good is lasting, and I see so much good.
I teach other subjects, too. I am only certified in math, however. If the student's school has provided math material, that is always the priority! If the school sends over lessons and materials in other subjects, however, we will work on that, too! That can be the tricky part of the job, because I am not as skilled in History and Literature.
I cried. I talked to my sister about it (she is a nurse on the floor with me, so we often see the same kids). Children's Hospital also employs chaplains for each of the units. Often, after a child passes, there is a memorial/remembrance ceremony for staff members where we can share memories and talk about what happened (the medical side of things). I also am an avid runner. Running is very helpful for mental health!
I am not someone that is very bothered by being in a medical/hospital environment, so for me, it does not feel hard to be around this population of students. I have had some co-workers transition back to the typical classroom, however, because it was too overwhelming and sad and never got easier for them. I think it really depends on the person you ask and how comfortable they feel being in a hospital setting with some potentially gruesome/sad sights. Not getting attached is a bigger question. This is something that I am still dealing with on a regular basis. As in the typical classroom, there are kids I naturally don't get attached to just because our personalities don't "click" as much (I have favorites, too, even in this environment!) That doesn't mean I am not affected if things don't turn out well, just that it makes it easier to not get attached and feel things too deeply. Attachment is much harder for me when I really hit it off with a student. I have to go into each student's room with a level of awareness of their diagnosis in order to help not get too emotionally involved. Some level of attachment is appropriate, as it shows the student and family how much you care about their education. Thankfully, the success rate for pediatric cancer is actually quite high. I am typically saying goodbye to students for good reasons -- they get to transition back to their classrooms!
When I am working with students with a history of depression or anxiety, I do my best to be very level-headed, calm, pleasant, even-tempered, dependable, and consistent. I don't want school to become a source of additional stress and anxiety. I try to break larger concepts down into very simple steps as to not overwhelm the student. Creating flow charts with the student's input is a great way for them to visually break down a mathematical concept into easy steps that they can refer back to throughout the lesson.
I do not think I will ever leave this position because of the emotional side of things. If I leave this position, it will probably be because I am leaving education altogether (maybe to just be a mom for a while!). Some of my coworkers have made a career from teaching in the hospital setting, while others were only able to last a few years because of the emotions. I see myself as one of the former.
They want their teacher candidates to only see students with IEPs because they are going for their Special Education degree. Occasionally this can be difficult -- some students have been in/out of hospital their entire life, and have never been in school long enough to be identified as needing an IEP (even tough it's clear to our hospital teachers that they would greatly benefit). In these cases, sometimes UC allows it.
My background in theatre has really allowed me to improvise with my students and think quickly on my feet (also, fluency in the subject matter is helpful!). The medications greatly impacts my students on a daily basis, so I never really know what I'm walking into each day. Theatre has allowed me to be very flexible, react and respond quickly, and be creative with educational solutions. It also helps me "act" and keep a straight face when I am exposed to some pretty gross stuff -- oozing wounds, vomit, boys using the urinal during school sessions, bleeding, etc.
If I had known that I would be in this teaching arrangement, I probably would
have taken more medical-based science classes at NKU. I often find myself
unable to keep up with a lot of the medical lingo, drugs, and diseases. It has
gotten easier with exposure, but it certainly would have been helpful in the
beginning.
I also am expected to teach other subjects besides math. This makes me pretty
uncomfortable, at times, but our teaching staff is so small that it would be
impossible to have a teacher for each subject and grade level. I have
considered going back to NKU for some upper level science classes, in
particular. In the meantime, Google has become a good friend!
Cincinnati Children's has the biggest education department (that I am aware of), but there are actually education departments at many of the large children's hospitals in the nation! Here's a list of some hospitals that have (or are starting) a hospital school program:
I was working with my all-time favorite student on a poetry unit (funny that this isn’t a math story!). She was the most fun and positive teenager I had ever met – completely fearless in the face of her diagnosis (post bone marrow transplant relapsed AML – just about the worst possible leukemia diagnosis you can get). Throughout the course of the poetry unit and writing assignment, she finally opened up about her fear of dying, isolation, and pain she was really experiencing. It was amazing to see how school can be very therapeutic – it became a safe place for her to share with me what she didn’t want her parents to see. I felt so honored that I had become a trustworthy adult for her. She wanted to keep the poetry private, and she didn’t share it with her parents. The student ultimately ended up passing away. It was one of the hardest deaths I ever experienced. After her passing, I mentioned to her family that I had some of her writing. They asked me to send it to them. The poetry she wrote was read aloud at her memorial service and funeral by her best friend.
There are some hospitals that gear their Oncology programs towards AYAs (Adolescents and Young Adults). Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston is one of them. They have a large population of patients between the ages of 18-25. I am not sure whether they have an educational aspect, but I imagine many of their patients are college students!
No. I do not see myself teaching in the traditional classroom at any point in the future. In the event that this job becomes too mentally exhausting, I would look for employment outside the field of education or another non-teaching role within the hospital school center. For example -- I have spent time making videos for schools with tips/tricks for educating a child with a chronic illness. These videos will soon be on the hospital website and sent out to our school partners. I envision eventually moving into a video production role at the hospital, making videos with diagnosis-related information to education teachers and peers about their student's diagnosis.