Open Collections

Abstract

Research has addressed issues which face the nurse caring for patients dying of cancer. However, this research has focused primarily on the older adult population. As a result, nursing issues with respect to the 20-45 year old patient group have not been examined. This study intends to address this gap in the literature by describing the experience of oncology nurses caring for young-middle aged (ie. 20-45 years old) patients dying of cancer. The conceptual framework guiding this study recognizes that this patient group presents unique and difficult nursing challenges. It is believed that insights into these issues may help to prevent the stress and burnout which these nurses experience. A descriptive study design with convenience sampling was used. All of the fourteen subjects interviewed were registered nurses working in oncology who had cared for a young-middle aged patient within the past two years. Data analysis was concurrent with data collection, confirming the categories derived from the conceptual framework. The following areas were selected for analysis: issues in identifying with patients; issues in caring for families; and issues in shifting from a curative to a palliative focus. Study findings and analysis revealed that oncology nurses find nursing young-middle aged patients dying of cancer particularly difficult and stressful. Patient identification appeared to be an important factor in creating this stress. In addition, the nurses identified the dependent children and the parents of their patients as particularly challenging. Further, they felt that they lacked expertise in providing palliative care and perceived a lack of support in their work environment for the provision of this care. The nurses felt overwhelmed by the intensity of the sadness and grief they experienced when nursing the target patient group. They closely monitored the level of their patient involvement, often employing distancing strategies. However, the nurses also described the positive benefits and insights they gained from these patient relationships, despite the difficulties and grief they experienced.