Nurses
Perceptions About Breast Cancer: A Synopsis
In the article "Perceptions about breast cancer among college students: Implications for nursing education" Powe, Underwood, Canales & Finnie (2005) attempt to explore the extent to which psychosocial issues are covered in nursing texts and curricula. The authors suggests that nurses are in a key position to improve patient education and correct misperceptions.
The authors also suggests that nurses have the ability when educated properly to allay patient fears regarding breast cancer. The study compares perceptions about breast cancer with patient sources of information. The findings suggests that few nursing students are subjected to patient perceptions of cancer while studying. The authors conclude that more research is necessary to understand how nurse's perceptions of breast cancer influence their ability to care for patients adequately. The only weakness of this study is the sample size is small, less than 200 subjects.
This article is significant because it points out how important the role of nurse as caregiver is to patient recovery. The authors point out that nurses have the ability to influence patient expectations of care if they are educated properly. However the article also suggests that more attention needs to be paid to educating nurses regarding the psychological impact a diagnosis with breast cancer may have. These findings apply to any situation where a nurse is caring for patients with potentially life threatening illness. The article also suggests that further research should be conducted to determine the extent to which nurse's perceptions of patient outcome may impact a patient's psychological state and ability to remain optimistic throughout therapy.
The article can be used as the impetus necessary to incorporate more psychosocial coursework in nursing education.
Reference:
Powe, B.D., Underwood, S., Canales, M. & Finnie, R. (2005, Jun). "Perceptions about breast cancer among college students: implications for nursing education." Journal Nursing Education, 44(6): 257-65
Breast Cancer
