title: Nurse perspectives regarding the meaningfulness of oncology nursing practice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recruiting, retaining, and training oncology nurses is challenging given the stress levels associated with a field with constantly evolving treatments and a need for expertise in death and dying.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This research was conducted to assess what is unique about oncology nursing, to identify what motivates oncology nurses to continue working in the specialty, and to determine what sustains them in daily practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  A phenomenologic approach was used to analyze data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nurses identified three main themes: the importance of vulnerability and thankfulness in patients, the feeling of spirituality associated with oncology practice, and the value of being in the moment and recognizing priorities as meaningful aspects of oncology nursing.
authors.affiliation: University of California Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.
authors.forename: Bonnie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Raingruber
authors.affiliation: University of California Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.
authors.forename: Terri
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wolf
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009859:Oncology Nursing; D029181:Spirituality
keywords: nurse recruitment; nurse retention; nurse-patient relationships; oncology nursing; spirituality; thankfulness; vulnerability