Easing Out Fear and Welcoming in Hope

Kim Moeller, a compassionate oncology nurse at City of Hope, empowers patients with cancer through empathetic listening and personalized care.

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.” — Nelson Mandela

Patients grappling with life-altering diagnoses have a champion in Kim Moeller. Although she now has responsibility for over 52 direct reports and more than a dozen clinical areas as Director of Ambulatory Care at City of Hope Orange County Lennar Foundation Cancer Center, this compassionate leader has not forgotten that there is one thing the best oncology nurses must do: alleviate a patient's fear.

Kim learned this lesson a long time ago when she first became interested in cancer care and shares it with every new nurse she mentors. She advises nurses to listen — truly listen — to the fears, anxieties and hopes of everyone in their care. That is why, in all her years of nursing, especially at City of Hope, she ensures there is always that sacred space where vulnerability is met with empathy and where doubts are met with hope.

But Kim's compassion doesn't stop at listening. She extends herself by getting to know her patients on a deeply personal level. She wants to learn about their families, their dreams and the stories that define them. She will also share her own stories to ensure she makes a connection. These relationships build trust, so her patients know she sees them as individuals, not just medical cases.

The connection that Kim feels for patients is what drew her to cancer nursing. Whereas other specialties only periodically connect with the same patients, patient relationships in cancer care often last for months and sometimes years, creating a unique bond between patient and nurse. "Patients invite you in," she says. "They begin by telling you small things about their lives, and they remember things you talk about, too."

For Kim, getting to cancer care was a journey. She began as a medical/surgical nurse in St. Louis. However, she noticed that a physician colleague who specialized in oncology had a very special relationship with his patients, not just for short-term issues but for the span of their cancer experiences. She also noticed that the doctor rarely had one specific "textbook" way of treating patients but approached care according to the individual patient's needs. "He and his patients were a team," she says. "I wanted to have that with the patients in my care."

Kim and her family moved from St. Louis to Ohio, where she began her oncologic nursing training in earnest. She received bachelor's and master's degrees in nursing and became a clinical nurse specialist.

From there came a move to California, where her leadership skills were recognized, and she became the nurse manager for infusion services at a health system in Orange County. Those who were on her team praised her for her range of knowledge and hands-on approach to management.

It was by chance (she calls it "divine intervention") that Kim came upon an opening at City of Hope Orange County Lennar Foundation Cancer Center. For Kim, a position at an institution that only focuses on advanced cancer research and treatments was more than the perfect fit — she says it is meant to be.

At City of Hope, Kim has the opportunity to excel in advanced cancer care and exemplify equally extraordinary levels of compassion and understanding. Additionally, she plays a vital role in mentoring up-and-coming nursing professionals, inspiring them to deliver the same level of care and empathy.

Priding herself on being a transparent leader, Kim works to instill in her staff many lessons in nursing that she has learned over the decades. She stresses grace under pressure, collaboration, the ability to triage issues and a laser-like focus on the patient. Nurses working for Kim know that they must be present for their patients, that everything, from the care they provide to their words and even body language, must demonstrate that patients are the priority of each day on the job. "The patient," Kim says succinctly, "is everything."

Although the consummate clinician and leader, Kim is so passionate about what she does that her voice sometimes cracks when talking about the patients she has worked with and helped alleviate fear of their disease. "These people look at life as a gift," she says, gesturing to show that sometimes a patient will often reach out to take her hand. "They are grateful for what you do. It will always be an honor to serve them."

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