Cancer care in the COVID-19 era and psychosocial impacts on oncology nursing in Brazil.

Introduction: Globally, Brazil has the third highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and the second highest number of deaths related to COVID-19 at the time of writing. Maintaining cancer care has been a challenge for patient safety and for the physical and mental health of oncology nurses.

Objectives: To describe which effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer care could already be evaluated and to identify the psychosocial impact on cancer nurses in Brazil.

Psychological exhaustion of nursing professionals who care for patients with neoplasms.

Objective: Identify, analyze and understand the social representations of nursing professionals about burnout syndrome.

Method: Qualitative study with nursing professionals who worked in the direct assistance to oncologic patients, conducted through semi-structured interview, using the technique of content analysis, anchoring the interpretations in the theory of social representations.

Results: Seven professionals participated; after analysis, two categories emerged: "The stress of professionals, the naturalization of suffering and self-care strategies"; and "Ressignifications, learning in the oncologic sector and network gaps".