title: A survey of emotional difficulties of nurses who care for oncology patients.
abstract: Nurses who care for dying patients are under pressure emotionally because of their beliefs and values about death as well as the emotions and reactions of the patients and their families. This study examines the emotional difficulties of nurses caring for oncology patients in Turkey. The study used a descriptive survey design. The participants were 157 nurses from three medical oncology units in Ankara. Results showed that nurses had difficulty in talking to oncology patients about end-of-life issues and found that caring for dying patients affected their personal lives. This study also showed that the length of nurses' work experience had no effect on their feelings and perceptions toward terminally ill patients. However, the nurses who had more work experience were more likely to report difficulty in talking to patients. Most of the nurses expressed feelings of inadequacy and hopelessness about pain management and treatments.
authors.affiliation: Gulhane Military Medical Academy School of Nursing, Faculty of Psychiatric Nursing Department, 06018 Etlik-Ankara, Turkey. foflaz@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Fahriye
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Oflaz
authors.forename: Filiz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Arslan
authors.forename: Senay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uzun
authors.forename: Ayfer
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ustunsoz
authors.forename: Elif
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yilmazkol
authors.forename: Emine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Unlü
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001293:Attitude to Death; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000523:psychology*; D009859:Oncology Nursing; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000523:psychology*; D014421:Turkey