Educational Needs of Inpatient Oncology Nurses in Providing Psychosocial Care

Patients with cancer have multiple psychosocial needs during inpatient admissions. However, nurses often are not sure how to best approach those psychosocial needs. Therefore, the purpose of this survey was to determine the educational needs of inpatient oncology nurses in terms of providing psychosocial care to patients and to determine the barriers that inpatient nurses experience when providing psychosocial care. Twenty-six inpatient oncology RNs participated in an online survey that assessed barriers to psychosocial care as well as educational needs. Nurses identified that time, lack of patient privacy, nurses' emotional energy, confusion about clinical guidelines, lack of experience with screening tools, not knowing how to approach sensitive topics, and poor communication between team members undermine psychosocial care. Inpatient nurses need additional training to provide excellent psychosocial care.