Experiences of palliative care nurses in providing home-based care for patient with advanced cancer

Objective: The main concern of caring for an advanced cancer patient is to fulfill the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs to reduce the patient's suffering for a dignified death. The purpose of palliative care is to provide comfort and appropriate palliative care nursing. The courage and dedication to fulfill the complex needs for a dying patient become a unique experience for palliative care nurses. Method: Such experience was explored by using a descriptive phenomenological approach. Eight palliative care nurses were involved as the participants. The findings from the interview were analyzed by using Colaizzi method. Results: The analysis resulted six themes: palliative care given after the primary job in hospital, family's assumption of palliative care nurse as a caregiver, palliative care nurse concerned more on patient's physical needs, palliative care nurse more dominant in collaborating to overcome the pain, providing care for imminent death in accordance with predefined standards, and challenges in decision making regarding to palliative care. Conclusions: It is suggested to improve the services to become a palliative care nurse specialist, to improve knowledge and training of palliative care nurse, and to manage the policy of palliative care nurse in National Health Service system.