Deb Geeraerts-Crowe's father is an Oncology physician at Roger Maris Cancer Center in Fargo, and that experience has now led to a career wanting to help cancer patients. She's enrolled in the newly formed two-year Cancer Registry Management certificate program at Minnesota State Community and Technical College and is working part-time as a service area assistant in the Cancer Registry department at the Maris Cancer Center.
As an employee at the Center, she is an important member of a cancer treatment center team, working closely with Oncology physicians, nurses, researchers, and health care planners. And she could not be happier.
"I love my job, I just absolutely love it," said Geeraerts-Crowe, who graduates from the program in May 2006.
It wasn't an easy path for Geeraerts-Crowe, who became an unwed mother at age 17. With the support of her parents and her boyfriend (now her husband) at the time, she was able to graduate with her high school class of 2000. She went on to enroll in the nursing program at Minnesota State Community and Technical College.
After a few years of taking classes in the nursing program, she found it was not something she wanted to continue, so she talked to an academic counselor at the school, Tom Dubbles, and she asked him about the Cancer Registry Management program.
"He is my favorite counselor at the school, was very helpful with my transition, and set up a meeting for me with Carolyn Gaarder, the director of the program. She understood my love to care for Oncology patients and opened my eyes to a new form of caring that I never knew existed," said Geeraerts-Crowe.
The courses within the Cancer Registry Management program are offered completely online. Graduates of the program go on to work in cancer centers where they collect and organize cancer patient information, such as the type of cancer, location of the cancer within the body, the extent or spread of the disease, and the treatments received by the patient. The Cancer Registrars forward information to a national database and it is used for the research, prevention and controlling of cancer.
"You take classes like 'Follow-Up' that teaches you how cancer registries follow and contact patients. Other classes like the 'Abstracts' which teaches you how cancer registries enter newly diagnosed patients into the Precis system and what information to look for from the patient's record. This program teaches the student what they need to know and learn to become a successful Registrar," said Geeraerts-Crowe.
When she graduates in May, she wants to work in the area of cancer tumors. Following graduation, she will be eligible to take a National exam to become a Certified Tumor Registrar.
Geeraerts-Crowe said her instructors, Marilyn Rohel and Carolyn Gaarder have done a great job in terms of being supportive and understanding of her commitment to succeed in the program.
"They keep it interesting. If you have a problem you can openly talk to either one of them and they are there to listen, not judge, and help you out the best they can to ensure a successful, positive experience in the program," she said.
Geeraerts-Crowe said the program has helped her prepare her for what she is doing now at the Cancer Center. "When I started my job I was still freshly in the program so I hadn't learned a whole lot yet, but now that I've been in the program a while it has helped me to better understand what is going on at work and has helped me be successful in what I do by being able to understand what the process is really about."
Geeraerts-Crowe said she would recommend the program to other interested students.
"There are other ways to care for people other than hands-on care," she said. "And this program is a great example of what other forms of health care are out there."