Congress Abstracts 2006

299

SUPPORT FOR THE ONCOLOGY SUPPORT STAFF: RECOGNIZING DIFFICULTIES THAT FACE NON-LICENSED STAFF IN AN ONCOLOGY SETTING. Barbara Cashavelly, MSN, RN, AOCN^® , Katie Binda, MSW, LICSW, and Elizabeth Alterman, BS, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA.

Prevalence of burnout, job dissatisfaction and stress in the oncology workplace has been widely studied. Understanding the impact of caring for the oncology patient on oncology nurses has been researched since the 1970's. However, the experiences of non-licensed support staff in the oncology setting have rarely been examined. Support staff's contributions to patient care are rarely acknowledged or addressed. Value is placed primarily on the practical aspects of their jobs and not how their experience in the clinical environment impacts their daily working lives. It remains unknown how applicable the experiences of the oncology nurse are to support staff working in the oncology setting. However, given the level of contact the support staff has with patients, it is probable that similarities may exist.

In a large academic Cancer Center, non-licensed support staff working in an oncology setting was experiencing job dissatisfaction and burnout. There was high turnover, emotional struggles, and lack of preparation for working with oncology patients. Acknowledging these issues, nursing leadership, administration and social work collaborated to understand and address the needs of the non-licensed support staff.

The purpose of this project is to describe the experiences of the non-licensed support staff working in an ambulatory oncology setting caring for cancer patients.

A descriptive qualitative approach was developed utilizing 7 focus groups of non-licensed support staff. The participants included: medical assistants, phlebotomists, phone coordinators, office assistants, and secretaries. The groups were facilitated by an oncology social worker. Discussions included the following areas: positive and difficult aspects of their work, caring for yourself, and suggestions for a supportive work environment. Five themes were identified: relationships with patients, coping with death and dying, value and recognition from patients and professional staff, balancing function with emotion and dealing with difficult patients.

The findings provided insight into the practice experiences and the role of the non-licensed support staff caring for cancer patients. Findings are similar to those found in the oncology nursing literature.