Euthanasia is not a new concept. However, there is a growing trend to legalize voluntary active euthanasia. The purpose of this study was to explore oncology nurses' attitudes toward voluntary active euthanasia. The population consisted of 200 registered nurses who were members of the Oncology Nurses' Society and who resided in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri. I developed a questionnaire ...

BACKGROUND A bladder cancer diagnosis and the effects of treatment can have a significant impact on a patient's physical, emotional, and psychological well-being. Because healthcare providers tend to focus on these aspects of care, a patient's concerns with changes regarding sexual health are often overlooked. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this article is to provide oncology nurses with an overvi...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate job satisfaction and intent to stay for ambulatory oncology nurses. BACKGROUND An oncology provider shortage suggests that retention is a high priority, and factors associated with job outcomes are unknown in this setting. METHOD Data were derived from a cross-sectional survey completed by 402 oncology nurses employed in ambulatory settings...

Patient safety is at the forefront of health care and nursing practice. Oncology nurses strive to provide safe oncologic care in their management of cancer, treatments, and side effects. Oncologic emergencies such as tumor lysis syndrome (TLS), however, are serious complications of cancer and cancer treatment. TLS often is seen in hematologic malignancies, such as lymphomas and leukemias, that ...

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore oncology nurses’ experiences of requests for assisted dying from patients with cancer at the end stage of disease. Nurses who identified themselves as direct care providers or clinical nurse specialist members of the Oncology Nursing Society were asked to submit a written account or story of receiving a request for assistance in dying from a ...

New trends have emerged in treating patients with autoimmune diseases with medications traditionally used in oncology. This article will summarize a comprehensive literature review performed to identify effective chemotherapy and biotherapeutic agents for treating each of the main autoimmune subtypes (nervous, gastrointestinal, blood and blood vessel, skin, endocrine, and musculoskeletal system...

Moral distress is defined as knowing the right thing to do when policy constraints do not allow for appropriate choices. The purpose of the current study was to explore the existence of moral distress in oncology nurses with a cross-sectional survey completed by nurses working on inpatient units at a midwestern cancer hospital. Investigators distributed the Moral Distress Scale-Revised to all d...

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To examine how oncology nurses define palliative care, views about who should and should not receive palliative care, and beliefs about palliative care decision making, including who should be involved and how decisions should be managed. DESIGN Qualitative interviews and analysis. SETTING Preferred location of each respondent. SAMPLE 12 nurses representing different as...

BACKGROUND Radiation, for either diagnosis or treatment, is used extensively in the field of oncology. An understanding of oncology radiation safety principles and how to apply them in practice is critical for nursing practice. Misconceptions about radiation are common, resulting in undue fears and concerns that may negatively impact patient care. Effectively educating nurses to help overcome t...

Experienced oncology nurses use different troubleshooting techniques for clearing occluded central venous access devices (CVADs) with varying degrees of success. The purpose of this study was to explore troubleshooting techniques used for clearing occluded CVADs by experienced oncology RNs and identify the perceived effectiveness of each technique. An invitation for a web-based survey was sent ...