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The Lived Experience of Work-Related Issues Among Oncology Nurses: A Metasynthesis
Marielle Diaw1, Jordan Sibeoni, Emilie Manolios
1Author Affiliations: ECSTRRA Team, UMR-1153, Inserm, Université de Paris (Mss Diaw, Manolios, and Gouacide and Drs Sibeoni, Verneuil, and Revah-levy); Service Universitaire de Psychiatrie de l'Adolescent, Argenteuil Hospital Centre, Argenteuil (Drs Sibeoni and Revah-Levy); and Service de Psychologie et Psychiatrie de Liaison et d'Urgences, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou AP-HP, Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris Ouest (Mrs Manolios); and Department of Oncology, Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou (Dr Brami), Paris, France.
Background:
Many qualitative studies have focused on the experience of nurses specialized in oncology and the ways they describe and understand that experience.
Objective:
We aimed to perform a metasynthesis, a systematic review, and an analysis of qualitative studies focused on the experiences and perspectives of oncology nurses about work-related issues.
Methods:
We searched international publications to identify relevant qualitative research exploring oncology nurses' experiences. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes and synthesize them.
Results:
We identified 63 articles from 61 studies (>1000 nurses) from 23 countries. Two main themes emerged: (1) the relational dimension of work-related issues, on the one hand with other professionals and on the other hand with patients and families; and (2) the strategies for coping with the work-related difficulties, including partnership, communication and support, and training.
Conclusions:
Our results revealed the central place of loneliness. The nurses simultaneously described feeling lonely due to their individual stance and being alone due to the absence of institutional support, with a confusion between these 2 forms of loneliness. This finding echoes specific aspects of oncology.
Implications For Practice:
Specific training and support group appear to be relevant ways to help oncology nurse to cope better with this loneliness and to bear the stress of this difficult field.
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