A Review of “Challenging Situations When Administering Palliative 
Chemotherapy—A Nursing Perspective”

Abstract

The December 2014 issue of the European Journal of Oncology Nursing published an article by Näppä, Rasmussen, Axelsson, and Lindqvist that reported on a qualitative study of the challenges experienced by Swedish nurses when administering palliative cancer treatment at the end of life. The study identified the various clinical scenarios that create dilemmas among nurses. The authors described why chemotherapy at the end of life has become so prevalent and offered strategies to minimize or prevent the moral distress that can occur. Research from the United States identified similar trends in end-of-life treatment and supportive recommendations for multidisciplinary palliative care team collaboration as a solution.

Prevalence of burnout syndrome in oncology nursing: A meta‐analytic study

“…Oncology units deserve special attention. Here, nurses care every day for people with pathologies likely to cause death and so must face up to the meaning of their own death, cope with the suffering and grieving processes of patients and relatives, communicate bad news, and make decisions in ethically complex situations …”

Burnout among oncologists and oncology nurses: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

“…They cope with the suffering and grieving processes of patients and their families, communicate bad news, and make decisions in ethically complex situations (Kaye, 2015; Laor-Maayany et al, 2020). This puts oncology health professionals at a high risk of burnout (Cañadas-De la Fuente et al, 2018; Houlihan, 2015). Burnout prevalence among oncologists and oncology nurses was estimated previously in meta-analytic studies using the MBI scale, which found 32% burnout among oncologists and 30% burnout among oncology nurses (Cañadas-De la Fuente et al, 2018; Yates & Samuel, 2019).…”

Unmet Needs in the Process of Chemotherapy Provision in Pancreatic Cancer Patients from the Healthcare Provider Perspective: A Phenomenological Study in Greece

“…The work environment lacks adequate structural conditions, human resources, time, space, and control, which leads to dissatisfaction among HCPs. Oncology staff, especially oncologists and nurses, need psychological support because they often experience stress and burnout due to the complex work environment with cancer patients, in which they have to deal with the concept of death and patient/family pain and receive complex moral decisions ( 30 ). Clinicians also need training to communicate and inform patients properly, and to support this, guidelines and recommendations have been published and workshops have been established to develop communication skills ( 31 ).…”