Bereavement Support for Oncology Nurses Caring for Patients and Families

Grief and bereavement support are essential for patients and family members facing serious illness and the end of life. In total, 126 participants attended a 2-day palliative care training for oncology, the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium Oncology advanced practice registered nurse course, supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute. Participants were asked to complete 3 open-ended questions and an 11-item survey assessing their confidence in providing bereavement support for patients and family members facing serious illness and end of life in postcourse evaluations. Results indicated that the lowest confidence scores were related to basic assessment of grief in adults and pediatrics and the highest confidence scores were providing emotional support for patients/families in their grief and supporting colleagues in their grief. Six themes emerged from the open-ended question that asked participants to share case studies describing a patient or family member that they had cared for who was experiencing grief and nurse interventions: (1) treatment failure/out of options, (2) unexpected death or recent loss, (3) impending death, (4) multiple or overlapping losses, (5) coping, and (6) anticipatory grief. Hospice and Palliative Care nurses can provide bereavement support for oncology patients, their families, and the oncology nurses who care for them.