title: Ethical problems experienced by oncology nurses.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To know the ethical problems experienced by oncology nurses.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive and exploratory study with a qualitative approach, performed in inpatient units and in chemotherapy out-patients units that provide assistance to oncological patients in two capitals in the South region of Brazil. Eighteen nurses participated in this study, selected by snowball sampling type. For data collection, semi-structured interviews were carried out, which were recorded and transcribed, and then analyzed by thematic analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two categories were established: when informing or not becomes a dilemma - showing the main difficulties related to oncological treatment information regarding health staff, health system, and infrastructure; to invest or not - dilemmas related to finitude - showing situations of dilemmas related to pain and confrontation with finitude.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For the effective confrontation of the ethical problems experienced by oncology nurses to occur, it is important to invest in the training of these professionals, preparing them in an ethical and human way to act as lawyers of the patient with cancer, in a context of dilemmas related mainly to the possibility of finitude.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
authors.forename: Kely Regina
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: da Luz
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mara Ambrosina de Oliveira
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Vargas
authors.affiliation: aff4.
authors.forename: Pablo Henrique
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Schmidtt
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Edison Luiz Devos
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Barlem
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jamila Geri
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Tomaschewski-Barlem
authors.affiliation: aff6.
authors.forename: Luciana Martins
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: da Rosa
mesh_terms: D026688:Bioethical Issues; D001938:Brazil; D006801:Humans; D009014:Morals; D009859:Oncology Nursing / Q000941:ethics*