News & Stories
Spotlight: Nurse Practitioner Lexi Maciej is inspired by patients
Nurse Practitioner Lexi Maciej, who helps treat children and young adults with cancer, says she is continually inspired and humbled by the patients she serves.
Maciej is a pediatric nurse practitioner with University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. She sees patients at Journey Clinic – Center for Children with Cancer and Blood Disorders and University of Minnesota Health Maple Grove Clinics. We spoke with Maciej recently to find out what she does, why loves her job and what makes pediatric hematology/oncology so special.
Describe your role as a pediatric hematology/oncology nurse practitioner. What distinguishes our cancer care from other cancer treatment services in the region?
My special interests include leukemia, lymphoma, a blood disorder called Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP), palliative care and adolescent health. The majority of my time is devoted to patient care in the Journey Clinic – Center for Children with Cancer and Blood Disorders, University of Minnesota Health Maple Grove Clinics and at an outreach site in Rapid City, S.D.
Our program is innovative in our approach to enhance patient care. For instance, our comprehensive leukemia and lymphoma program brings together a large team of providers from different specialties to carefully assess patients, create treatment plans and watch for potential treatment-related side effects in a single visit. Essentially, we bring all of the specialists to the patient, instead of having the patient make several separate appointments on different days, at different locations. This special focus not only improves the patient’s experience, but results in earlier identification and intervention of health concerns with the goal of improving quality of life and minimizing late effects.
