SIOP Africa 2017: Strengths and weaknesses of pediatric oncology
nursing in Africa
At the 2017 SIOP Africa Congress, the pediatric oncology nurses
identified the humanization of care “making the patients feel welcome
when arriving and staying at the hospital for childhood cancer
treatment” as a strength. The nurses mentioned being close to their
patients and sharing their patients’ emotions and feelings during their
treatment period. They said they focus on delivering safe care with the
patience and courage to face a challenging patient population. Next, the
nurses mentioned their strengths in pain assessment and control while
caring for children and adolescents with cancer, using validated
assessment tools. The nurses believed they were strong in explaining
cancer care and treatment to their patients and families. Finally, they
mentioned their competence and mastery of nursing practice (professional
competency) for this patient population, as well as their desire to
improve.
The nurses mentioned that pediatric oncology nurses in their settings in
Africa were weak in re-evaluating nursing training, e.g., three months
after training, to determine if there had been any impact on patient
care. Participants believed that reassessing practice after beginning
work with children and adolescents with cancer was essential for
providing high-quality nursing care. Second, the nurses stated they were
weak in knowledge and skills to conduct research and submit manuscripts
for publishing. They further noted a severe lack of evidence about
nursing practice in their various settings across Africa. Poor
documentation of nursing actions was also identified as a weakness. The
nurses believed this impacted patient care and was an issue that needed
to be addressed across Africa. Participants all stated that the shortage
of trained nursing staff was a major cause of their weaknesses. A final
weakness identified in this workshop was the lack of knowledge and
skills to conduct research and submit manuscripts for publishing.