Staff Stress, Work Satisfaction, and Death Attitudes on an Oncology Palliative Care Unit, and on a Medical and Radiation Oncology Inpatient Unit

Abstract

Professional caregivers for cancer patients are at high risk for work-related stress, but it is not clear how this relates to exposure to death and dying, and to professional satisfaction. This study compares work-related stress and staff satisfaction on an academic acute palliative care unit (PCU) with that on a medical and radiation oncology inpatient unit (OIU) at the same cancer centre. PCU staff tended to report less work stress-particularly related to terminal care—than those on the OIU, and higher work satisfaction and team support. PCU staff were more likely to perceive their work experience as having “positively altered their attitude to death” (p=0.007). These results show that a supportive team environment can exist on an academic PCU and suggest that support currently offered to PCU staff in terms of caring for terminally ill patients should also be extended to those working in general oncology settings.