rachael_johnson

Rachael Johnson, BSN, MHSA, RN, OCN®

Des Moines, IA

I have been an oncology nurse my entire 39 - year career of being a nurse. I started on the adult oncology unit and then transferred to Blank Children’s Hospital’s pediatric oncology unit, working both the inpatient and clinic side of things. When I got married, I relocated to the University of Iowa’s Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. I have worked as an oncology infusion nurse, a radiation therapy center/gamma knife nurse, and in a center for breast health while pursuing my Masters in Health Care Administration. I served on the OCN ILNA Development Committee in the years preceding the COVID pandemic and developed some lifelong relationships with that team. In the last 20 years I have been in leadership as a unit director/manager of an inpatient adult medical oncology unit. Working with teams and encouraging their professional growth to include becoming certified has been one of the most rewarding roles in this job. We wish no one to have to walk through our doors, but admit our lives are blessed daily by those who cross our paths. They remind us what is important in life, and to cherish relationships with those important to us. Becoming a member of the ONCC board of directors has been a bucket filler to say the least, and I look forward to the work we will accomplish. It is truly humbling to be at the table making decisions that I know will impact the care our nurses provide and the outcomes of those we have been called to serve. Outside of work I can be found gardening and canning, baking and cooking in my kitchen, golfing, playing my trumpet for church, always have a book I am reading, attending sporting events of family members, and time with my 2 grown sons and family.