Oncology nurse and physician attitudes toward aggressive cancer treatment.
Oncology nurses (n = 57) and oncology physicians (n = 40) employed in the same hospital completed the Cancer Attitude Questionnaire. Significant differences (p < or = .001) between nurse and physician attitudes were evident on the two major subscales addressing the issues of (a) aggressiveness of treatment/de-emphasis of socioemotional aspects of care and (b) the importance of patient-family attitudes. Physicians' attitudes were significantly more favorable on the first subscale; nurses' attitudes were significantly more favorable on the second. Implications of these findings as indicators of potential nurse-physician conflict are discussed.
Damrosch
S
S
Center for Nursing and Health Services Research, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore 21201.
Denicoff
A M
AM
St Germain
D
D
Welsch
C
C
Blash
J L
JL
Jackson
T
T
Etzelmiller
J
J
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008297:Male; D008495:Medical Oncology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009726:Nurses; D009859:Oncology Nursing; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010820:Physicians; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D015203:Reproducibility of Results