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

Abstract

BACKGROUND:Cancer patients need not only well-planned treatment, but also comprehensive nursing care provided with compassion, competence, and conscience. Nursing presence is an essential part of the care process in all nursing interventions.AIM:This study aimed to identify the barriers to the nursing presence in oncology care units.MATERIALS AND METHODS:A qualitative content analysis study was carried out with the participation of 27 nurses who were chosen by purposive sampling. The data collection instruments were semi-structured interviews and observation. The interviews were recorded and transcribed, and then coded and analysed by the Graneheim and Lundman’s content analysis methodology. The criteria proposed by Guba and Lincoln were used to ensure the validity of the research.RESULTS:From the data analysis, the researchers were able to obtain a primary theme labelled “Rocky road ahead of nursing presence” and two subthemes labelled “Difficult and stressful work environment” and “Dysfunctional rules and regulations” with several subcategories including “exposure to violence”, “shortage of nursing staff”, “inattention to the needs of nurses”, “organizational unfairness”, “excessive paperwork”, and “need for detailed documentation”.CONCLUSION:There are numerous challenges ahead of achieving satisfactory nursing presence and quality care in the oncology care units. The findings highlight the key role of organisational conditions in the nursing presence and the dire need to pay further attention to the motivational factors.

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

“…The reasons for consulting conscience as a reference in nursing can be explained by the fact that conscience has an intuitive aspect, that the majority of the participants were women, that women use their intuition more frequently, and that conscience is frequently used in performing actions because consulting conscience in such cases is widely accepted by the society (Eagen‐Torkko & Levi, 2020). However, within the nursing philosophy, nurses attach more importance to conscience because they spend more time with the patient, and thus they more closely witness the psychosocial characteristics of patients, because they are closer to patients' value‐related problems and because being compassionate in a cultural context is considered as a sign of being conscientious (Mojarad et al, 2018). In addition, that nursing education aims to gain nurses an emotional‐intuitive perspective in holistic patient care and that conscience is considered as a professional element nurse should have to be able to provide supportive care may have affected the results…”

“…In this case, conscience is a force protecting the vulnerability of others and preventing misuses (Dahlqvist et al, 2007). According to the results of several studies, conscience is perceived by the participants as a warning sign not to harm themselves and others (Mojarad et al, 2018).…”

“…Therefore, conscience is an important factor for healthcare providers (Cleary & Lees, 2019; Peacock‐Johnson, 2018). The conscience‐referenced nursing approach helps nurses to recognize the needs of patients, to understand the values of patients from different cultures, and apply ethical principles to concrete situations in the ethical decision‐making process (Gorbanzadeh et al, 2015; Mojarad et al, 2018; Peacock‐Johnson, 2018).…”

“…According to several studies, nurses rely on their conscience which they believe guides them to take the right action when they experience value conflicts and when they are to evaluate their actions, and perceive it as a characteristic every nurse should have to provide supportive care (Gorbanzadeh et al, 2015; Mojarad et al, 2018). According to the results of several studies, conscience is a factor motivating nurses to give quality care by directing actions to good values during the provision of patient care, a factor limiting low‐quality actions, and the source of a moral voice/sensibility that reminds nurses of their responsibilities about quality of care.…”

“…According to the results of several studies, conscience is a factor motivating nurses to give quality care by directing actions to good values during the provision of patient care, a factor limiting low‐quality actions, and the source of a moral voice/sensibility that reminds nurses of their responsibilities about quality of care. It has also been argued that nurses are more sensitive to the expectations and desires of individuals by using conscience, that they consider conscience as a guide for them, and that acting with a conscience is a factor that improves conscience (Ahlin et al, 2015; Gorbanzadeh et al, 2015; Kadioglu et al, 2016; Mojarad et al, 2018).…”