Annaleise Darrohn, nursing, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital founder Danny Thomas famously said that “no child deserves to die in the dawn of life.” This summer, East Carolina University student Annaleise Darrohn continued Thomas’ quest to fight and research cures of childhood cancer.

Annaleise Darrohn gained experience as a nursing extern at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. (Contributed photo)

Darrohn, a rising senior nursing major and Brinkley-Lane Scholar from Wake Forest, completed an eight-week nursing externship that specialized in hematology and oncology at the hospital. While there, Darrohn immersed herself in St. Jude’s culture while learning a wide range of new skills both in direct patient care and in a classroom setting.

“I began working closely with a nurse preceptor on the intermediate ICU and chemotherapy floor where I learned a multitude of skills including: tracheostomies, NG (nasogastric) tubes, chemotherapy and immunotherapy administration with specific protocol regimens, clave changes, and much more,” she said.

While the Memphis hospital is known worldwide, Darrohn learned about the opportunity on a smaller scale.

“I was introduced to St. Jude through my service sorority, Epsilon Sigma Alpha,” she said. “Through the sorority and its fundraising events, my passion grew for pediatric oncology and I learned about the student extern position. I was one of over 250 applicants and was fortunate to be one of 15 selected for the role.”

Darrohn grew close with her fellow nursing externs, which consisted of young adults from across the country including North Carolina, Oregon and Texas.

“We all lived in the same apartment complex and got super close,” Darrohn said. “We explored Beale Street, state parks, farmers markets, the zoo and various Memphis activities.”

With the externship complete, Darrohn returns to ECU with a better idea of a potential career path.

“I got to experience a whole new world of pediatric oncology nursing,” she said. “I love pediatric medicine, but I want to focus on pediatric oncology and eventually go into nursing leadership. I’d like to get my Master of Science in nursing and an MBA in health care administration to serve in various roles across North Carolina. Pediatric oncology is such a rewarding job, and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for pediatric oncology because of all the research they are doing at St. Jude!”

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