Faces of Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic: Vicki Farrell
May 21, 2026Categories: Faces of Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic
This series spotlights colleagues who are helping create a safe, healing and compassionate environment both in and out of the hospital.
For Vicki Farrell, a nurse practitioner at the St. Mary Cancer Center, her radiation patients aren’t just individuals in need of treatment—they’re a second family.
When Farrell first came to St. Mary Medical Center in 1988, she brought an innate love for connection, which her patients immediately noticed. One, whom Farrell helped through his leukemia treatment and follow-ups, was so moved by her care, he stayed in touch for nearly 40 years with annual Christmas cards.
“We would send a card to each other to update on our families, children and grandkids. This year, I got a card from his wife saying that he had passed away not too long before the holidays,” says Farrell. “It’s rewarding that patients feel comfortable coming to me, talking to me, letting me know different ways that I can help them, even if it’s just 15 minutes of comfort.”
During Oncology Nurses Month and beyond, Farrell is the epitome of the Oncology Nursing Society’s motto: Growing hope, inspiring strength.
Given the nature of her work in oncology, where she sees the same lung, breast, prostate and skin cancer patients weekly as they undergo radiation, a desire to know them beyond their diagnosis is, for Farrell, a must. It’s about understanding each individual – their likes and dislikes, loved ones, hobbies—to help them feel a little more like themselves during an otherwise scary and stressful time.
“I like to learn something about all my patients. I can always go back and say, ‘How’s so and so doing?’ or something about their family, their personal life, something that they’ve done that gives us that connection,” she says.
In fact, Farrell uses her own experience to connect with patients. As a breast cancer survivor herself, she understands firsthand how they’re feeling.
“Having been in the same boat, it makes me more empathetic toward all of my patients,” says Farrell. “It also allows them to see that they can have a normal life.”
Additionally, Farrell takes note of creative tactics that patients bring to the table, which she can utilize in the future to better care for someone else. For example, many find it difficult to drink the necessary six to eight ounces of water daily. After one of her patients informed her of how they use a dark bottle (not being able to see how much liquid is left makes it easier to consume), she now recommends this idea to other patients who struggle with the same thing.
It’s hard to imagine Farrell doing anything but oncology nursing—a career that seems made for her, even after 40 years. However, this wasn’t the original plan. Initially, Farrell pursued a degree in veterinary medicine, but given the competitiveness of the field at the time, she considered other areas she felt drawn toward. There was something about nursing that just felt right.
At first, it wasn’t easy. After switching her major and transferring from a Delaware-based university to one in Philadelphia, she became the school’s longest commuter, traveling from Maryland to the city daily before finally renting a room from an 84-year-old woman for $35 a week.
Farrell earned her degree and, on February 29, 1988—only a few months after its opening—began working with St. Mary Medical Center’s cancer program. Like her early college days in nursing, Farrell’s inaugural weeks in the field were difficult as she adjusted to night shifts, lack of sleep and the emotions of caring for sick patients.
“Oncology was one of those things that just clicked. But I struggled a little at first, especially because most of my cancer patients at the time were older. I had a hard time with that for a while. I wasn’t sleeping,” says Farrell. “One day, I was driving home just bawling my eyes out. I said, ‘God, if this is what you want me to do, you’ve got to give me a sign. You’ve got to give me a way to take care of these patients and myself, and deal with these emotions.’ And the most beautiful rainbow came out over top of Route 1. And this is where I’ve been ever since.”
Fast-forward 40 years, and Farrell can’t imagine doing anything else. Whether she’s educating a patient about potential radiation side effects or celebrating with them post-treatment, she embraces all of it and is a true staple of the St. Mary Cancer Center. When describing Farrell, her colleagues are quick to use words such as “wonderful,” “thorough” and “wealth of knowledge.”
Outside of the hospital, Farrell enjoys spending time with her children, walking her dogs, going to the beach and quilting.