Group dream work: a holistic resource for oncology nurses.

Purpose/objectives: To explore dream work as a possible means for nurses to increase self-understanding and problem solving in personal and professional life.

Design: Hermeneutic phenomenologic, descriptive, and interpretive.

Setting: A comprehensive cancer center in the southern United States.

Communicating with patients in cancer care; what areas do nurses find most challenging?

Background: Patient communication is a cornerstone of comprehensive oncology nursing care. Oncology nurses, however, do not appear to receive much advanced training in communication skills and many nurses do not feel adequately trained in this area.

Method: We designed a 33-item questionnaire to assess nurses' perceived level of difficulty and skill in a variety of common clinical situations where patient communication was a challenge.