Self-care of physicians caring for patients at the end of life: "Being connected... a key to my survival".

Physicians providing end-of-life care are subject to a variety of stresses that may lead to burnout and compassion fatigue at both individual and team levels. Through the story of an oncologist, we discuss the prodromal symptoms and signs leading to burnout and compassion fatigue and present the evidence for prevention. We define and discuss factors that contribute to burnout and compassion fatigue and consider factors that may mitigate burnout.

Healing connections: on moving from suffering to a sense of well-being.

Life-threatening illness is an assault on the whole person--physical, psychological, social, and spiritual. It frequently presents caregiver and sufferer with a paradox--suffering does not correlate with physical well-being alone. Drawing on a purposive sample of 21 participants, a phenomenological study was carried out to explore the relevance of the existential and spiritual domains to suffering, healing, and quality of life (QOL).

The caregiver's perspective on existential and spiritual distress in palliative care.

There is a paucity of research relating to how palliative caregivers conceptualize, identify, and provide for spiritual and existential domains of care. Focus groups comprising experienced palliative care providers participated in three semistructured 2-2.5 hour interviews, which were transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis.

Psychological Impact of Urologic Cancer.

All involved in the therapeutic alliance feel stress: the patient, the family, and the care giver. Uncertainty breeds anxiety. Distress is minimized when all concerned have a shared, clear understanding of therapeutic goals and when emphasis is focused on what can be done.