Exploring the Emotional Concerns of Oncology Nurses: A Qualitative Study

Nursing care for patients with cancer is related to the nurses’ ability to manage their emotions and having appropriate behaviors in the clinical setting. Oncology nurses are emotionally influenced by their communication with cancer patients. Thus, this qualitative study was conducted to explore nurses’ emotional concerns in oncology wards.

This qualitative content analysis was performed among 14 oncology nurses in the oncology wards of cancer hospitals in the east and southeast of Iran (South Khorasan and Sistan and Baluchestan Provinces). The study participants were selected through purposeful sampling. Data were collected through face‑to‑face, semi‑structured interviews until data saturation was reached from January to September 2020. The interviews were analyzed after being typed word by word, based on Graneheim and Lundman (2004).

The themes and subthemes that emerged from the data were related to the emotional concerns of oncology nurses. The main themes included emotional involvement and attachment (feeling of frustration in nurses, nurses’ suffering from painful experiences, and nurses’ emotional dependence), emotional ambiguity (nurses’ uncertainty emotions, avoidance of expressing real emotions, and having a positive mindset to maintain the patient’s positive mood), and emotional exhaustion (persistent chronic stress, excessive worrying about possible harms, and feelings of mental and physical exhaustion).

Based on the study results, cancer patient nursing care can be distressing and stressful for nurses. Oncology nurses have many emotional concerns in caring for cancer patients. The experiences of oncology nurses provide new insight into how to manage their emotional concerns.