Outcomes of perceived quality nursing care reported by oncology patients

At a time when health care quality is being defined by providers, administrators, and third-party payers, it is more important than ever to ensure that patients' voices are heard. Patients can tell us not only what makes nursing care excellent; they can tell us how this care makes a difference. This article reports on the outcomes ascribed to quality nursing care by a group of purposively selected oncology patients who participated in a grounded theory study. One outcome was a sense of well-being comprising trust, optimism, and authenticity. A second outcome, increased fortitude, occurred when the patients felt that they had the readiness, strength, and stamina to undergo cancer treatment and bear its effects. The outcomes are described and discussed in relation to existing scholarly work.