AUTHOR=McLean Margaret , Cleland Jennifer , Worrell Marcia , Voegele Claus 

TITLE=“What am I Going to Say Here?” The Experiences of Doctors and Nurses Communicating with Patients in a Cancer Unit

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=volume 2 - 2011

YEAR=2011

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00339

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00339

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=This paper describes a study investigating the provider-patient communication perceptions, experiences, needs and strategies of doctors and nurses working together in a UK cancer setting.  This was a qualitative study using individual interviews and focus group discussions.  Interpretative Phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to underpin data collection and analysis.  Twenty-six staff participated in the project (18 nurses and 8 doctors).   Both professional groups identified an inherent emotional strain in their daily interactions with patients.   The strategies they adopted to reduce this strain fell into two main categories:  1) Handling or managing the patient to keep negative emotion at bay; and 2) Managing self to keep negative emotion at bay.  These strategies allowed staff to maintain a sense of control in an emotionally-stressful environment.  Most believed that their communication skills were sufficient.  
In conclusion, communicating with and caring for cancer patients causes considerable psycho-social burden for doctors and nurses.  Managing this burden influences their communication with patients.   Without recognition of the need for staff to protect their own emotional well-being, communication skills training programmes, emphasised in current UK cancer care guidelines, may have little impact on practice.