Oncology nursing forum
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Oncology nursing forum · Nov 1997
Comparative StudyOncology nurses' practices of assisted suicide and patient-requested euthanasia.
To provide reliable and valid empirical data related to New England Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) members' self-reported practices of assisted suicide and patient-requested euthanasia. Analysis focused on the nurses' practices, a comparison of their practices to a similar sample of oncology physicians, and their use of the healthcare team. ⋯ The relative number of healthcare professionals (physicians or nurses) who admit to hastening a patient's death is small. Nurses in this study received fewer requests to perform euthanasia than physicians, but they performed patient-requested euthanasia four times more frequently than physicians. Professional affiliation appears to be one factor in determining whether or not a patient's request for assistance with death will be granted. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICES: The policy debate about professional roles in actions that end the lives of patients must be extended beyond physicians to include nurses. Nurses must take an active role in the discussion and definition of acceptable practice at the end of life.
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Oncology nursing forum · Nov 1997
Patients' knowledge of and attitudes toward the management of cancer pain.
To examine patients' knowledge of and attitudes toward the management of cancer pain and to identify, from the patients' perspectives, factors contributing to effective and ineffective pain relief. ⋯ A need exists for patient education that addresses patients' misconceptions and concerns about using pain medications and the principles involved in effective cancer pain management.
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To develop a pamphlet for educating patients about patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). ⋯ Nurses can use this tool to educate patients requiring PCA therapy for pain management.