TY - JOUR
T1 - Communication training
T2 - Needs among oncology nurses across the cancer continuum
AU - Wittenberg, Elaine
AU - Goldsmith, Joy
AU - Buller, Haley
AU - Ragan, Sandra L.
AU - Ferrell, Betty
N1 - Funding Information:
Elaine Wittenberg, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies at California State University in Los Angeles; Joy Goldsmith, PhD, is a professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Memphis in Tennessee; Haley Buller, MSHSC, is a research supervisor at the City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte, CA; Sandra L. Ragan, PhD, is a professor emerita in the Department of Communication at the University of Oklahoma in Norman; and Betty Ferrell, PhD, RN, MA, FAAN, FPCN, CHPN, is a professor and division chair of nursing research and education at City of Hope Medical Center. Wittenberg can be reached at [email protected], with copy to CJONEditor@ons .org. (Submitted June 2018. Accepted September 5, 2018.) The authors take full responsibility for this content. This work was supported, in part, by a grant (award number: R25CA174627) from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health. The article has been reviewed by independent peer reviewers to ensure that it is objective and free from bias.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 by the Oncology Nursing Society.
PY - 2019/2
Y1 - 2019/2
N2 - BACKGROUND: Oncology nurses are responsible for communication-aimed prognosis, patient education about cancer care and treatment, survivorship, and care coordination. Communication difficulties and uncomfortable communication topics put nurses at risk for compassion fatigue. OBJECTIVES: Supporting nurse communication skills requires institutional policies and structures to foster patient-centered communication. This study reports on communication training needs for oncology nurses to inform future development of communication curricula and institutional training. METHODS: A national survey of oncology nurse teams (N = 355) attending one of four communication training courses was used. Surveys were used to evaluate institutions’ current patientcentered communication practices and to ascertain institutional communication training needs. FINDINGS: Nurses’ role in communicating prognosis remains unclear, and training is needed for discussing survivorship. Curriculum development should be congruent with institutionally defined roles for nurse communication.
AB - BACKGROUND: Oncology nurses are responsible for communication-aimed prognosis, patient education about cancer care and treatment, survivorship, and care coordination. Communication difficulties and uncomfortable communication topics put nurses at risk for compassion fatigue. OBJECTIVES: Supporting nurse communication skills requires institutional policies and structures to foster patient-centered communication. This study reports on communication training needs for oncology nurses to inform future development of communication curricula and institutional training. METHODS: A national survey of oncology nurse teams (N = 355) attending one of four communication training courses was used. Surveys were used to evaluate institutions’ current patientcentered communication practices and to ascertain institutional communication training needs. FINDINGS: Nurses’ role in communicating prognosis remains unclear, and training is needed for discussing survivorship. Curriculum development should be congruent with institutionally defined roles for nurse communication.
KW - Communication education/training
KW - Nursing
KW - Oncology
KW - Patient-centered care
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85060521685&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1188/19.CJON.82-91
DO - 10.1188/19.CJON.82-91
M3 - Article
C2 - 30682007
AN - SCOPUS:85060521685
SN - 1092-1095
VL - 23
SP - 82
EP - 91
JO - Clinical journal of oncology nursing
JF - Clinical journal of oncology nursing
IS - 1
ER -