Five Nurses' Experiences of Hospice Care in a Long-Term Perspective:

Palliative care nurses' experiences of stress, anxiety, and burnout: A thematic synthesis

OBJECTIVES

This systematic literature review aimed to critically appraise empirical evidence investigating palliative care (PC) nurses' experiences of stress, anxiety, and burnout.

METHODS

Six databases (PsycINFO, MEDLINE, Scopus, CINAHL, PubMed, and Web of Science) covering literature within psychology, medicine and healthcare, and social sciences were searched from inception until December 2020. Studies were eligible if they included qualitative literature reporting on experiences of nurses working in a PC setting of stress, anxiety, or burnout, and were published in English. Eighteen studies satisfied the review's inclusion criteria and were considered relevant to the review aims. Critical appraisal was undertaken using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Qualitative Checklist.

RESULTS

Thematic synthesis identified three main themes: When work becomes personal, The burden on mind and body, and Finding meaning and connection. The findings suggested that stress, anxiety, and burnout are deeply personal feelings experienced by nurses both on an emotional and physical level. Additionally, PC nurses' experiences can differ in meaning and strength depending on their relationships with patients, patients' families, and colleagues.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESULTS

The synthesis highlighted that PC nurses' experiences are complex, encompassing clinical and organizational challenges, and the personal impact their work has on them. Having a greater understanding of the factors that contribute to PC nurses' experiences may help in PC nurses' core training and continuing professional education, as well as the provision of effective supervision and staff support.

[Feminization of the patient in thoracic oncology and experiences of caregivers: An exploratory study]

INTRODUCTION

The epidemiology of lung cancer is evolving and caregivers need to address an emerging demographic, women, sometimes presenting at a young age. The effect of this ongoing change on thoracic oncology services and on the nursing population (registered nurses and auxiliary nurses) has not been evaluated.

METHODS

A quantitative analysis can help to control the biases that may have an impact on nursing staff identification with female patients. A categorical and automated qualitative study (Tropes software) of speech productions related to "difficult situations" was carried out.

RESULTS

Four contexts activating critical situations were identified: disagreement and conflict in care, a constraining situation of care, an overflow situation, particularly related to increased suffering of the patient and a feeling of being isolated in care delivery. Regarding the management of female patients, after the impact of disagreements in management, the feeling of care being constrained in the presence of a female patient with whom caregivers identify themselves is more significant than with regard to male patients.

CONCLUSION

Support within the care team is essential, but not sufficient. Only a practice-based training context involving peers outside the team seems to help address the most impactful situations.

The construction of the health professional in palliative care contexts: a scoping review on caring for the person at the end of life

Aim

The aim of the study was to map of the literature on the elements contributing to the construction of the health care professional in the context of palliative care.

Methods

Scoping review based on Arksey and O'Malley framework. PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus databases, and gray literature were the sources searched (2005-2015), completed by reference searching, hand searching, and expert consultations. Primary studies focusing on different professionals working in palliative care units or hospice centers were eligible for inclusion.

Results

From a total of 3632 articles, 22 met the inclusion criteria. The content of the studies was described and classified in 5 elements: (i) construction and application of the concept of care; (ii) psychosocial effects that the daily care produces; (iii) working conditions that influence the caregiving provided; (iv) knowledge mobilized in the provision of care; and (v) strategies adopted by health care professionals to build relationships. Data about nurses, physicians, and psychologists were found, but no data were found about social workers. Gaps identified in the publications were as follows: relationship competencies and strategies adopted; the real needs from educational programs; and the view of other professionals.

Conclusions

Key elements identified in the concept of the construction of the health care professional should be addressed in future interventions: prevention of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and achievement of a greater personal accomplishment. In addition, none of the articles retrieved offered the different perspectives of all the disciplines in a multidisciplinary team.

Battling a Tangled Web: The Lived Experience of Nurses Providing End-of-Life Care on an Acute Medical Unit

Meeting the heath care needs of patients at the end of life is becoming more complex. In Canada, most patients with life-limiting illness will die in hospitals, many on medical units. Yet, few studies have qualitatively investigated end-of-life care (EOLC) in this context, or from the perspectives of nurses providing EOLC. The purpose of this study was to seek to understand the lived experience of nurses on a medical unit providing EOLC to patients. Interpretive phenomenology guided the method and analysis. Individual face-to-face interviews were conducted with 10 nurses from 2 hospital medical units. The underlying essence of these nurses' experiences was that of "battling a tangled web." Battling a tangled web represented their struggles in attempting to provide EOLC in an environment that was not always conducive to it. Seven themes were generated from the analysis: caring in complexity, caught in a tangled web, bearing witness to suffering, weaving a way to get there: struggling through the process, creating comfort for the patient, working through the dying process with the family, and finding a way through the web. The findings contribute to an understanding of the experiences of nurses in providing EOLC on a medical unit including perceived facilitators and barriers.

Nursing students' perceptions of caring for dying people, after one year in nursing school

AIM

To describe Swedish nursing students' perceptions of caring for dying people after the first year of a three year in a nursing programme at three university nursing schools in Sweden.

METHODS

Interviews (n=17) were undertaken with nursing students at the end of their first year. A phenomenographic approach was used to design and structure the analysis of the nursing students' perceptions.

RESULTS

The analysis resulted in five categories: 1) from abstract to reality, 2) from scary to natural, 3) increased knowledge can give bad conscience, 4) time limits versus fear of end-of-life conversations, and 5) meeting with relatives.

CONCLUSION

Nursing students need to be prepared both theoretically and within practice to encounter death and dying and to care for dying persons. By combining their theoretical knowledge of dying and death with their own encounters of death and dying people in practice, the students can be supported to develop an understanding of dying and death as a natural part of life rather than something frightening.