| Abstract [eng] |
In this final paper author analyzes the topic of nurses' opinion on competencies in caring for persons with oncological breast disease what is a relevant issue world-wide to ensure the highest quality in breast cancer care. Persons that have been diagnosed with breast cancer face with a variety of new and incomprehensible phenomena that cause confusion and anxiety. A nurse is a specialist who takes care of the basic patient‘ needs and is the first to know about the patients‘ problems as well as to solve them. In Lithuania, care for people with oncological breast disease is provided by the general practice nurses as breast cancer nurse specialization is not yet available in our country. Following to this, the author raises two problematic questions: what are the needs of people with oncological breast disease from the nurses‘ perspective? Do the nurses in our country have the necessary competencies to meet those needs? The purpose of the researh – to analyze nurses‘ opinion on competencies in caring for persons with oncological breast disease. Research methods. A qualitative research was performed, based on the Grounded Theory methodology. Research tool: unstructured interview. Two inpatient and one outpatient healthcare facilities were selected for the study. Interviews were done with 19 general practice nurses. The study included one email. The research was conducted in compliance with ethical principles. Results of the research. Based on nurses‘ point of view, the most common needs of people with oncological breast disease are the need for information and emotional support. The importance for nurses to have particular personal qualities was highlighted. Communication was identified as the central category. Aspects of nurse communication with patients, their relatives and physicians were discussed. Factors limiting communication were identified. Nurses' opinion on the need for breast cancer nurse specialization was assessed. Conclusions. Proper communication and emotional support are important elements in the care of people with oncological breast disease. Regarding to this, nurses indicated a lack of psychological knowledge. |
