An exploration of cancer staff attitudes and values

McKegney, F. Patrick; Visco, Gene; Yates, Jerome W.; Hughes, John R.

doi:10.1002/mpo.2950060409

Cited by 6 publications

References 1 publication

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Attitudes towards cancer. Development of the cancer attitudes questionnaire

Lebovits

Croen

Goetzel

1984

Cancer

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A questionnaire evaluating attitudes towards cancer (the Cancer Attitudes Questionnaire) was constructed to compare the attitudes of first‐year medical students before and after taking a clinical oncology program with those of students who did not participate in the program. A factor and reliability analysis revealed five underlying factors that explained 42% of the variance and reliabilities ranging from 0.55 to 0.79. An analysis of covariance revealed that students who participated in the clinical oncology program were more positively predisposed toward the outpatient functioning of cancer patients (P < 0.04) at the conclusion of the year than students who did not take the course; the participating students were also somewhat less pessimistic toward the disease (P < 0.07). Women (regardless of whether they had taken the course) assigned significantly greater importance to the patient's and family's attitudes in relation to outcome of disease (P = 0.03) than did male students. It appears that an early medical educational oncology experience emphasizing contact with ambulatory cancer patients can apprecibly alter the attitudes of first‐year medical students towards cancer.

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Attitudes towards cancer. Development of the cancer attitudes questionnaire

Lebovits

Croen

Goetzel

1984

Cancer

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Job stress and satisfaction among the staff members at a cancer center

Peteet

Murray-Ross

Medeiros

et al. 1989

Cancer

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Although it is evident that working with cancer patients can be stressful, explanations have differed as to why this is so and little attention has been paid to the rewards of this work. One hundred ninety clinical staff members at a comprehensive cancer center representing 91% of eight disciplines studied were interviewed using a semistructured format about the factors influencing their job satisfaction. The fact that the staff members almost uniformly rated their satisfaction as high (8.2 on a scale of 1 to 10) precluded the detection of discriminating variables. Satisfaction with the way they met their goals also was'high; most identified potentially achievable goals, relied heavily on the interdisciplinary team, and experienced changes in their attitudes and approach during their first 2 years in the field, primarily increased realism. A major discomfort for physicians was the inability to provide optimal care. Ethical issues were a major discomfort for nurses. Death itself and staff conflict were less important sources of discomfort than in previous reports.Cancer 64:975-982, 1989.HE DIFFICULTY that many oncology units encounter T in maintaining adequate numbers of qualified staff members has generated considerable interest in the factors influencing job satisfaction and staff turnover. With a few notable exceptions, the literature has focused on single explanations of stress. Some authors have emphasized the discomfort associated with proximity to death, noting a tendency of certain staff members to withdraw emotionally from dying patients.',' Others have described "burn out" from overinvolvement with the patient's and identify the major difficulty for staff members as maintaining appropriate expectations of themselve~.~.~ Still others have located the real problem in the work envir~nment,'.~ emphasizing the importance of the relationships among members of the treatment team. The most comprehensive model of occupational stress is that proposed by Vachon: who describes an interaction among several variables including the particular challenges of the work, the attributes that individuals bring to it, the characteristics of the work setting, and the coping mechanisms that staff members develop. Her observations, based on informal interviews with many caregivers in a variety of clinical settings, are the most extensive currently.

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Medical student interactions with cancer patients: Evaluation with videotaped interviews

Terasaki

Morgan

Elias

1984

Med. Pediatr. Oncol.

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In order to evaluate the impact of a block in cancer medicine upon student interactions with cancer patients, a group of 32 students have been videotaped during interviews with simulated and genuine cancer patients before and after the block. The videotapes were scored and analyzed for frequencies and patterns of interactions by the method of Reciprocal Category Analysis. This disclosed significant decreases in purely factual questions by the students, with corresponding increases in discussion of emotional aspects of illness, following the course. The temporal pattern of interaction also changed with less of a tendency to delay or avoid addressing emotional aspects of disease noted. In addition to demonstrating changes in student interactions with cancer patients following a didactic course, this study exemplifies an approach offering more direct assessment of physician-patient interactions than has been practical using questionnaires.

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An exploration of cancer staff attitudes and values

Cited by 6 publications

References 1 publication

Attitudes towards cancer. Development of the cancer attitudes questionnaire

Attitudes towards cancer. Development of the cancer attitudes questionnaire

Job stress and satisfaction among the staff members at a cancer center

Medical student interactions with cancer patients: Evaluation with videotaped interviews

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