The Lived Experiences of Staff Nurses on Burnout in Oncology Department
Research Question:
What are the lived experiences of nurses in the Oncology Department?
What are the coping experiences of nurses in the Oncology Department?
Objectives of the study:
Conceptual Framework
Figure 1 Conceptual Framework
Research design
The current research uses the qualitative research design to attain main aims and objectives of the research. As the central objectives of the present study seek to reveal the lived experiences of the nurses in the Oncology Department, it is believed that the qualitative research design suits it the most. It is considered that qualitative design is constructed for the researchers who aim at revealing the nature of the problem and the factors causing a specific phenomenon (Goertz & Mahoney, 2012). The qualitative research has the goal to determine the root of the issue rather than determining the relation between variables. It is considered that the ability to explain the problem and interpret the core of the issue is the prerogative of the qualitative research design, which will be the most effective framework for the present research (Darlington & Scott, 2002).
Several studies confirm that “qualitative research design is utilized when the researcher targets the investigation of the nature of the problem and explanation a particular issue” (Parylo, 2012, p. 298). At the same time, it is essential to choose an appropriate type of qualitative study that will meet the requirements of the initial aims and research questions. Therefore, the current inquiry implements the descriptive phenomenological approach.
Descriptive phenomenological approach is going to be used by the author as it is provides the researcher with an opportunity to gain a deep understanding of the nature of meaning on everyday experience (Fain, 2010). The central goal of the phenomenological approach is to present a "lived experience" of a phenomenon (Davidson, 2012). As this is a qualitative evaluation of description information, instruments to analyze its data have to be substantially different from the conventional or quantitative methods of research (Couture, 1998).
Each description given by the participants is first read through in its entirety in order to get a better sense of the whole situation in which the experiences occurred. Then each description is attended to individually as the researcher goes through and marks off different units of meaning within the data in order to make the descriptions more manageable. After a single description is broken down into separate units, each unit can then be transformed from the language through which it was given into "psychologically sensitive" meaning units, which is done with the help of imaginative variation. Finally, after all the descriptions have undergone these steps, general psychological structures, in the sense described above, are sought (Fain 2010).
Data collection
It was decided to implement in-depth interview as the primary method for collection of the data. The main reason for choosing this method is the need to determine the lived experience of the nurses, which will be enriched by the point of view of the qualified nurses. In-depth interview allows the researcher to detect all details of the subject and elaborate the topic during the process of interview (Westhoff, 2014). The interview will be conducted either face-to-face or with the help of virtual means of communication. Each interview will last from 40 minutes to an hour. The time will be adjusted according to the convenience of the interviewees. The interviews will be recorded with the permission of the participants. An example of the research planned interview questions for the study attached in the appendix.
Methodological concepts
The rigger of qualitative methodology is judged by credibility, auditability and fittingness (Wood and Haber 2006) and the proposed research will be addressing these important criteria as the following:
Credibility: the proposed questions of the interview will be peer reviewed by experts in research committee at Royal Hospital for more verification of the questions.
Auditability: the interview will be audio tapped to avoid missing any participants’ data.
Fittingness: the author used purposive sample from two different oncology settings which are inpatients and outpatients to enrich the data collection with enough details
Ethical consideration:
Informed consent:
The participation in the interview will be anonymous. All personal information will be deleted once the interview is recorded and transcribed. It is necessary to ensure that the data obtained during the interview will be stored in the safe place to which only the researcher will have an access. The respondents will have to provide written consent by ensuring that the information provided by them will be used in the study. At the same time, the respondents may withdraw from the interview any time they feel uncomfortable answering the questions. No sensitive topics will be discussed during the interview. Written and verbal consent will be obtained from all the participants; sample of the consent form kept in the appendix.
Institutional Review Board:
This proposal will be reviewed by the research committee and ethics committee at Royal Hospital at the beginning. Letter to the Research Committee and Nursing Department attached in the appendix.
Study population:
The target population of the study will be oncology staff nurses working in oncology department at Royal Hospital for example staff nurse of oncology ward and oncology day care in National Oncology Centre. The reasons of selecting this group are the easy access and reach to them for interview. Also, the main reason of recruitment of these specialists is the need to assess the experience of the nurses working in the Oncology department.
Population and sampling:
The sample will be selected based on non-probability sampling; therefore; the author will used purposive sample as the author have knowledge about staff working in oncology department. Moreover, this method will allow the author to handpick the cases to be included in the sample (Wood and Haber 2006). The target population of this study will be considered of 15 staff nurses: 10 from Oncology Ward and 5 from Day Care in National Oncology Centre. It is considered that 15 participants will be enough for the aims and objectives of the present research. At the same time, in the case of withdrawal from the study, the current inquiry will have to recruit additional participants. It is important to ensure that the respondents are interested in participation by appreciating their time. The results of the study will be provided for the participants according to their demand, at the same time, only the transcribed and coded information will be provided to ensure the preservation of the participants’ identity and personal information.
Inclusion criteria
It is important to include the participants who have substantial experience in working in Oncology department. Therefore, staff nurses who have at least five years of experience in working in oncology ward and oncology day care at Royal Hospital will be recruited for the present research. Also, the interviewees have to be willing to participate in the research. In addition, the study will include both men and women into the research.
Exclusion criteria
Staff with less than five years’ experience.
Nurses working in outpatient in national oncology center.
The recruitment of the sampling:
Data analysis
The study will use analytical and descriptive methods for performing the data analysis. The researcher will have to reveal the cause-and-effect relations in the data generated by the interviews (Fairclough, 2003). Also, the information obtained by the interview will be contrasted and compared in order to find similarities and differences in the lived experience of nurses. It is essential to ensure that the data analysis is performed according to the qualitative research design principles.
All the interviews will be audio taped and write down word for word, and then all data gathered will go through extensive and sensitive reading of presence with the entire transcription of the participant’s description. After that, the author will extract significant statements and articulate the meaning of each significant statement. Next step is that the researcher will aggregate the meaning into clusters of themes. By this method the researcher will be able to synthesize descriptions and develop themes based on the words of the participants (Wood and Haber 2006). The obtained data will be coded according to the most important terms designating the aims and objectives of the research. Coding of the data will be conducted manually by reviewing every answer provided by the participants.
Limitations
Sample number used for the study is too small, which might be reduced if any of the participants decided to withdraw from the study at any time. This affects the generalizability of the findings and increases the threat to the external validity (Hagtvet & Hoglend, 2008). Moreover, the researcher is working with the participants in same departments which might affect the bias of the findings. Such specificity can have a negative impact on the internal validity of findings and produce bias (Wainer & Braun, 1988). Therefore, it is decided to conduct the interviews on the basis of theoretical framework rather than personal knowledge of the respondents. The findings of the study are expected to be credible and reliable, as no serious problems were found in the methods of the research.
Time planning
Implication for the practice
The results of the proposed study will have some implication on the practice:
Identification of causes of burnout among nurses in oncology ward help to prevent diminishes of quality of life of the nurses.
It will secure the quality of cancer care in Oman which depends on the health care professional and patient care.
It will help to provide educational and emotional support to decrease the level of stress and burnout.
It will alert Hospital Managers to develop some strategies to address and improve quality of working conditions.
Dissemination
The findings of the study will be presented in the presentation
References
Couture, B. 1998. Toward a Phenomenological Rhetoric: Writing, Profession, and Altruism. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.
Davidsen, A. S. 2013. Phenomenological Approaches in Psychology and Health Sciences. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 10(3), 318-339.
Darlington, Y., & Scott, D. 2002. Qualitative Research in Practice: Stories from the Field. Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin.
Fairclough, N. 2003. Analysing Discourse: Textual Analysis for Social Research. London: Routledge.
Goertz, G., & Mahoney, J. 2012. A Tale of Two Cultures: Qualitative and Quantitative Research in the Social Sciences. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Hagtvet, K. A., & Hoglend, P. A. 2008. Assessing Precision of Change Scores in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy: A Generalizability Theory Approach. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 41(3), 162-178.
Parylo, O. 2012. Qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods: An analysis of research Design in articles on principal professional development (1998-2008). International Journal of Multiple Research Approaches, 6(3), pp. 297-308.
Riffe, D., Lacy, S., & Fico, F. G. 1998. Analyzing Media Messages: Using Quantitative Content Analysis in Research. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Wainer, H., & Braun, H. I. 1988. Test Validity. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Westhoff, K. (2014). The Decision-Oriented Interview (DOI) as an In-Depth Selection Interview. Psychological Test and Assessment Modeling, 56(2), 137-147.
Appendix: Open Ended Questions
What are the lived experiences of nurses in the Oncology Department ?
What are the Coping experiences of nurses in the Oncology Department?
Explain why you choose to work in oncology departments?
Express your feeling when caring of cancer patients?
What other factors could make you stressed in the department?
If you have the chance to leave the department would you do it? Why?
Explain how working in oncology department affects your social and family life?
How often are you involved in administering chemotherapy in oncology department?
What kind of allergies or unknown diseases you were affected during your practice in Oncology Department? If so, how were you treated?
Describe any other side-effects you felt during your practice with cancer patients?
What would you advice for further improvement in administering chemotherapy and suggestions for future practice?
