“Promoting continuity of care”—Specialist nurses’ role experiences in gynaecological oncology: A qualitative study

Abstract

Aims and objectives To investigate the experiences of specialist nurses in Switzerland concerning their role of caring for women with gynaecological cancer. Background Women with gynaecological cancer often face complex situations, which require an integrative and quality‐assured approach by the healthcare system. Specialist nurses can play an important role in supporting these patients. However, in countries where the role of specialist nurses is at a developmental stage, their role lacks clarity. Design A qualitative descriptive design was chosen to gain insights into experiences of specialist nurses who care for women with gynaecological cancer. Methods We conducted three focus groups with 12 specialist nurses to access their experiences with regard to their role. Thematic qualitative text analysis was used to interpret the results. Results Divided into six main themes, the study results describe specialist nurses’ (1) current and (2) aspired role. (A) Counselling, (B) guidance, (C) key contact person and (D) team support are relevant themes in their current role. The themes (E) provision of resources and (F) extended knowledge are relevant to their aspired role. Within their current and aspired roles, the specialist nurses’ scope of practice is defined as “promoting continuity of care.” Conclusions The results indicate aspects of specialist nurses’ current and aspired roles. Detailed role descriptions and legal requirements are necessary to further support nurses towards an extended and specialised practice. In the context of gynaecological cancer survivors, services should be developed, where specialist nurses can play an important role in providing continuous care. Relevance to clinical practice To support implementation of specialist nursing in clinical practice, resources have to be mobilised and role descriptions should be provided. By creating an appropriate framework, the specialist nurse can turn into an important support for women with gynaecological cancer, in addition to current healthcare services.

The evolving challenges of specialist gynaecological cancer nurse roles – A qualitative study

“…These attributes and characteristics are common to all specialist nurse roles, thus confirming that whilst this group of nurses face some unique challenges in the recognition of their roles, their role is fundamentally similar to those in other tumour streams or nursing specializations. These key functions also concur with the findings of a systematic review which found that women cared for by a specialist nurse saw the nurse as a dependable source of expertise and valued the accessible and tailored care that they offered (Cook et al, 2017) and those of Kobleder et al (2017).…”

“…These key functions also concur with the findings of a systematic review which found that women cared for by a specialist nurse saw the nurse as a dependable source of expertise and valued the accessible and tailored care that they offered (Cook et al., 2017) and those of Kobleder et al. (2017). However, where the position of the specialist nurse as the ‘go‐to person’ for both the patient and the team seems to form the crux of their role, the ensuing dependence on the individual in the role is undesirable.…”

“…The results of this review, however, must be considered regarding the level of evidence from which they were derived (Cook et al, 2017). Since that review, a study was conducted in Switzerland that sought to identify the experiences of specialist nurses caring for women with gynaecological cancers (Kobleder et al (2017). They found that nurses identified the key characteristics of their role as counselling, guidance, being a key contact person, and providing team support.…”

Exploring non-physician care professionals’ roles in cancer multidisciplinary team meetings: A qualitative study

“…); 2) another group, composed mainly of experienced nurses and specialist nurses, perceive their role in MDTMs as active, as for the exchange of patients’ non-medical information in MDTMs. However, despite the alternative views of the second group, overall our results show that non-physician care professionals play a limited role during case discussions in MDTMs, a finding that is in line with recent literature on a nurse’s role in multidisciplinary team meetings [ 26 , 36 – 39 ]. Neither do they actively participate in the decision-making process.…”

Effects of continuity of care on the postradiotherapy survival of working-age patients with oral cavity cancer: A nationwide population-based cohort study in Taiwan

“…In cancer care, COC is a major theoretical concept and enhances the quality of care[24, 25]. Cancer and its treatment negatively affect a patient’s psychosocial condition and social life; therefore, promoting COC could help cancer survivors deal with the illness-processing experiences and recuperation [26]. However, according to our review of the relevant literature, no study has yet examined the association between COC and the survival rate in working-age patients with oral cavity cancer.…”