Hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel : Nurses’ experiences when caring for children with cancer

Background: As a nurse, when caring for children with cancer, you need to offer the best care for the child and in the meantime focus on family centered care in order to meet the thoughts and wishes the family carries. Caring for children with cancer might contain many obstacles and difficulties. Communication, education and to understand one's role as a nurse is important when caring for these children. Aim: To identify nursing experience when caring for children with cancer. Method: A literature overview has been done and ten studies were gathered through the databases PubMed and Cinahl. The analysis of these studies created four categories with associated subcategories. Results: It came through those nurses faced difficulties in pediatric care in different situations. These situations created categories which were: Ethical issues, Education, Cooperation with the family and Nurses emotions and support. Conclusion: Factors found in this study were nurses' experience of lacking the necessary preparation, the need of emotional support and the importance of working close to the families. It is found that nurses felt unprepared for their work and dealing with tough situations. The relationship between the nurse and the patient's family is important to provide high quality care. Nurses expressed the need for support from colleagues and family members in order to grow as a nurse and as a person