Nurse Team Role in Caring for People With Metastatic Breast Cancer
Citation
Leadbeater, M. (2013). The role of a community palliative care specialist nurse team in caring for people with metastatic breast cancer. International journal of palliative nursing, 13(2), 93-96.
Synopsis
The article begins with an abstract that explains the problem, purpose and aims of the study. In addition, it briefly explains the methodology, results and conclusion of the study. The researcher has also highlighted the keywords for the study, which includes metastatic breast cancer, community, Macmillan, palliative care and symptom management.
In carrying out the research, the author’s authority is defensible because she is a clinical nurse specializing in palliative care. She works at the Ashgate Hospice in Chesterfield, England.
The validity of the article topic/title is clear because it addresses the problem of cancer, one of the most significant causes of death in England and the world. In addition, it was carried out in 2013, which shows its ability to address a modern health issue.
The researcher wanted to address the need for palliative care in nursing, especially in managing breast cancer. The researcher’s objective was to examine the role of the teams of specialist nurses in providing palliative care to MBC patients.
The overall specific aim of the research was to determine the role of the CPCSN teams in managing the MBC trajectory of the patient group as well as to identify any gaps in the existing care process. The researcher wanted to investigate the referral of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients to a community palliative care specialist nursing facility in the UK. In addition, the researcher aimed at establishing the time that the referrals were taking place, the number of referred patients, the cause of the referrals and the achieved outcomes.
The study was limited to the field of metastatic breast cancer. In addition, it was limited to the Ashage Hospice in Chesterfield, England.
Within the introduction section of the article, the researcher provides a brief but comprehensive analysis of the state of public health in England about cancer, especially MBC. In this section, the author describes the large number of people diagnosed and living with MBC in England as well as the increasing prevalence rates. In addition, the researcher examines the current state of care provided to these patients at the hospital and community levels, which reveals a discrepancy in the professional and support care (Leadbeater, 2013). Thus, the study problem addresses the lack of adequate support and professional care at the community level.
The credibility of the study
Despite the validity of the research topic, the researcher does not describe the specific study question being addressed. In addition, the researcher does not provide a hypothesis of the study, even though the study uses empirical information to describe the phenomenon. Nevertheless, the study’s validity is not compromised because the specific aims and objectives show that the researcher attempted to test the hypothesis based on the argument at the end of the article. In particular, the researcher argued that nurse specialist teams in palliative care provide a pivotal role in providing care to the MBC patients in terms of supporting them therapeutically, socially and psychologically and providing comfort and encouragement during the final stages of the disease and life.
The author fails to review the relevant literature in most of the aspects and variables being investigated, despite showing the ability to develop a valid research topic. Nevertheless, this does not mean that the results of the study, the outcomes and the conclusion are invalid because the researcher’s introduction has a comprehensive analysis of the current situation, which is based on a wide review of data from previous studies and national surveys/reports.
The researcher used a quantitative study design, where statistical data was obtained from the participants. In addition, the study used a retrospective approach to investigate the data obtained from patients within 12 months of representation at the facility.
In this case, the source of data was the computerized patient records at the Ashgate Hospice in Chesterfield. To collect data, the researcher identified all the MBC patient records made within the specified 12-month period. The notes were manually analyzed to examine the stage and site of the malignancy, the persons making the referral, reasons for the referral and the intervention length. A team of eight specialist nurses was also identified and used as the study sample. The MBC patient data was compared with other types of referrals recorded in the same period to obtain the ratios.
The results of the study show that about 10% of the total referrals to the facility were MBC patients. The main reasons for the referrals were pain control and emotional support. It was also found that most of the referred patients were in their advanced stages of the disease.
Thus, it was concluded that the palliative care team comprised of specialist nurses was the most effective way of providing care to the MBC patients in their late stages.
Critical analysis
The methodology section is one of the most valid aspects of the study. It provides evidence of the need for specialist teams in managing terminal diseases. It shows that individual nurses cannot achieve the same outcomes achievable by teams. The researcher has attempted to address an important issue in the current healthcare sector.
Conclusion
The study shows that the findings should be used in practice by ensuring that specialist nurse teams should be implemented in every palliative care. In addition, it reveals a gap in the existing knowledge because palliative care teams are not common in most hospitals. As such, additional studies should be conducted to address this issue.
Reference
Leadbeater, M. (2013). The role of a community palliative care specialist nurse team in caring for the people with metastatic breast cancer. International journal of palliative nursing, 13(2), 93-96.