Psychological support at night. A pilot study.

In-depth interviews with a sample of 10 nurses working permanent night duty in a British regional oncology and radiotherapy hospital reported that a significant part of their job involved psychological support for those patients who were awake and experiencing stress. The respondents explained that this psychological work was often disregarded and/or went unrecognized by the nursing staff on day duty, an attitude that could jeopardize the continuity of care of cancer patients. The findings stem from the author's doctoral dissertation concerning the role of the cancer nurse in relation to stress and the person with cancer, and they lay the foundation for further studies into the nature of the nurse's support role of cancer patients at night and in different health-care settings.