Rocky Road Ahead Of Nursing Presence in the Oncology Care Unit: A Qualitative Study

Relationship between nurses' perceptions of conscience and perceptions of individualized nursing care: A cross-sectional study

PURPOSE

To identify the relationship between the perception of conscience and individualized nursing care.

DESIGN AND METHODS

A cross-sectional study. The sample of the study consisted of 326 nurses working in internal medicine and surgical clinics. The data were collected using the Nurses' Perceptions of Conscience Questionnaire and Individualized Care Scale-Nurse (ICSA) Version.

FINDINGS

Their mean score for the ICSA-Nurse was 3.96 ± 0.72. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between their scores for the ICSA-Nurse and Voice of Conscience and basic qualities of conscience.

CONCLUSION

The participants considered their conscience as a reference when performing their care actions and defined conscience as an expression of social and spiritual values.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Nurses' awareness of perceptions of conscience and the effect of conscience on the patient-nurse relationship can help them to provide more sensitive care to their patients.

Exploring the Emotional Concerns of Oncology Nurses: A Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

Nursing care for patients with cancer is related to the nurses' ability to manage their emotions and having appropriate behaviors in the clinical setting. Oncology nurses are emotionally influenced by their communication with cancer patients. Thus, this qualitative study was conducted to explore nurses' emotional concerns in oncology wards.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This qualitative content analysis was performed among 14 oncology nurses in the oncology wards of cancer hospitals in the east and southeast of Iran (South Khorasan and Sistan and Baluchestan Provinces). The study participants were selected through purposeful sampling. Data were collected through face-to-face, semi-structured interviews until data saturation was reached from January to September 2020. The interviews were analyzed after being typed word by word, based on Graneheim and Lundman (2004).

RESULTS

The themes and subthemes that emerged from the data were related to the emotional concerns of oncology nurses. The main themes included emotional involvement and attachment (feeling of frustration in nurses, nurses' suffering from painful experiences, and nurses' emotional dependence), emotional ambiguity (nurses' uncertainty emotions, avoidance of expressing real emotions, and having a positive mindset to maintain the patient's positive mood), and emotional exhaustion (persistent chronic stress, excessive worrying about possible harms, and feelings of mental and physical exhaustion).

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the study results, cancer patient nursing care can be distressing and stressful for nurses. Oncology nurses have many emotional concerns in caring for cancer patients. The experiences of oncology nurses provide new insight into how to manage their emotional concerns.