Learning to provide humanistic care and support in the context of chronic illness: Insights from the narratives of healthcare professionals in hemato-oncology.

PURPOSE: To document the process by which healthcare professionals (HCPs) support people living with and beyond hematological cancer and detail how they learned from their personal and clinical experience. METHOD: Using a narrative approach, we conducted nine semi-structured interviews with HCPs, including nurses, from a specialized care centre who support patients with hematological cancer. Interviews aimed to capture experiential learning gained from their practice. We performed a hybrid inductive/deductive content analysis on data using a framework based on sociological and educational models of experiential learning. RESULTS: Among healthcare professionals, analysis revealed the need to provide care and support that is 'humane' and adapted to each patient. Learning to provide this type of care proved to be challenging. Over the course of their clinical experience, healthcare professionals learned to adapt the support they provided by straddling a boundary between sympathy and empathy. Learning outcomes were associated with personal-professional development among participants. CONCLUSION: Our findings bring to light an overlooked facet of patient support in the context of cancer care, which is the acquisition of the soft skills required to deliver humanistic care and support. This learning process requires time and involves navigating between the realms of sympathy and empathy. Experiential learning is intertwined with the complexity of the often long-term patient-professional relationship that characterizes hemato-oncology. This unique relationship offers rewards for healthcare professionals on both personal and professional fronts.

Feasibility and Impact of an Online Simulation Focusing on Nursing Communication About Sexual Health in Gynecologic Oncology.

Nurses' communication regarding the sexual health of women with gynecologic cancer is suboptimal and may be attributed to their lack of sexual health training and knowledge. Our study aims to document the learning experience, impacts, and feasibility of an online educational intervention activity between oncology nurses and a simulated participant on communication with patients regarding oncological sexual health. Using a qualitative approach, we conducted a feasibility study, which included 11 oncology nurses, and performed semi-structured individual interviews after our simulation exercise. We then conducted an iterative thematic data analysis. The participating nurses found the learning experience positive and satisfactory, despite issues with discussions between learners via Zoom™. Study nurse participants reported positive outcomes in knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, communication skills, and nursing practices. Finally, the educational intervention was found to be feasible. The online educational intervention involving a simulated participant appears to be a satisfactory, feasible, and promising module to improve communication regarding the sexual health of gynecologic cancer patients among oncology nurses. However, further studies are needed to verify this type of intervention's effectiveness and optimize oncology nurses' continuing education in sexual health.

The Experiential Learning Pathway of Cancer Survivors as They Recover Their Lives Post-Treatment: A Qualitative Study.

For many cancer survivors, post-treatment challenges are predominantly related to their personal and social lives. These challenges are part of an experiential learning process linked to a survivor's identity, their desire to preserve independence, their social roles, and responsibilities along with a return to their normal lives. We used interpretive description to describe the experiential learning process of cancer survivors as they recover post-treatment. Data from five group discussions with 27 participants were combined with data from 9 in-depth individual interviews that examined post-treatment challenges. Through an iterative qualitative analysis, we uncovered 3 experiential learning pathways. Narrative vignettes are used to portray and highlight learning involved in accepting loss, asking for help, and rebuilding authentic social networks. Experiential learning shares recognizable features among individuals identified as milestones. These lead to a greater understanding of how cancer survivors acquire a new sense of self and recover their lives post-treatment.

Learning through the experience of cancer survivorship: differences across age groups.

OBJECTIVE: To identify and describe challenges that contribute to experiential learning among cancer survivors across different age groups. RESEARCH APPROACH: Qualitative collaborative study. PARTICIPANTS: 27 cancer survivors. METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH: Participants were invited to explain the after-cancer challenges they learned from during six focus groups. Five were organized by age-group (15-18, 19-34, 35-44, 45-59, ≥ 60) and a mixed group was held to ensure the co-construction of findings with participants. Inductive content analysis was performed. FINDINGS: While learning to live with a chronic disease, participant's experiential learning appeared through four challenges: Searching for one's identity, Autonomy, Disruption of social roles and responsibilities, Reclaiming one's life. Particular aspects of challenges were identified across ages-groups and life courses. INTERPRETATION: Results indicate that psychosocial and health professionals should be sensitive to the fact that life courses are now diverse and not always associated with biological age. This has the potential to improve care by informing how these challenges affect the experience of cancer survivorship over time.