Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ONCOLOGY NURSING, cilt.102511, ss.1-8, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)
Aim: The present study aims to qualitatively explore the experiences, problems, and coping
methods of nurses caring for mastectomy patients.
Methods: The study employs an exploratory–descriptive design with the participation of 14
nurses serving in a surgical oncology clinic. We gathered the data through semi-structured,
face-to-face interviews and analyzed the transcriptions of audio recordings using the thematic
analysis method. We then extracted relevant codes and subthemes to achieve the main themes.
The main themes are presented in three relevant contexts.
Results: Participating nurses’ experiences are addressed through the themes of ‘emotional
difficulties,’ ‘physical difficulties,’ and ‘positive awareness.’ In addition, their coping methods
are considered within the themes of ‘coping methods’ and ‘motivation.’ The final context is
identified as needs, where the themes of ‘organizational needs’ and ‘psychosocial needs’ are
explored. Our findings highlighted that although participating nurses usually confront physical
and emotional challenges, they exert much effort to develop both positive awareness and engage
in behavioral changes. Interestingly, we observed that participants remain ineffective in dealing
with and have difficulties employing relevant solutions for professional issues.
Conclusion: Overall, even though participating nurses need to deal with the burden of physical
and emotional challenges when caring for patients, their coping strategies with these difficulties
often remain insufficient. Thus, our humble recommendation may lie in satisfying the
organizational and psychosocial needs of surgical nurses to promote their coping skills when
fulfilling their demanding tasks with mastectomy patients.