Harmonizing Hope: A Grounded Theory Study of the Experience of Hope of Registered Nurses Who Provide Palliative Care in Community Settings
Published in Palliative Support Care, the following study explores the hope experience of registered nurses (RNs) who provide palliative care services in community settings. The specific aims of the study were to (1) describe their hope experience, (2) develop a reflexive understanding of the processes of their hope, and (3) construct a substantive theory of hope of palliative care RNs. Participants described their hope as a positive state of being involving a perseverant and realistic understanding of future possibilities. The main concern for participants was keeping their hope when faced with work-life challenges and contrasting viewpoints (i.e., when their hopes differed from the hopes of others around them). They dealt with this through harmonizing their hope by the processes of “looking both ways,” “connecting with others,” “seeing the bigger picture,” and “trying to make a difference.” The results of this study suggest that hope is very important to palliative care RNs, in that it helps them to persevere and sustains them when faced with work life challenges in their practice.
Topics:
Individual Strategies, Personal Factors, Practice Environment
Tags:
International, Nurse