Revealing cancer nursing practice: establishing use of the phone in a New Zealand cancer centre

Abstract

Oncology and haematology nurses have long recognised the benefits of utilising the telephone to manage the care of patients. Yet this useful nursing tool is also a potential source of problems. Nurses have expressed concern about the time telephone consultations take, frustrated that this time spent on the telephone distracts their attention from patients attending the hospital or the outpatient setting for treatment. Also of concern is the invisible nature of telephone work. Since little is understood about the scope of nursing activities undertaken over the telephone this work is not commonly included in position descriptions, nor is it planned for or supported by hospital policy and education. This study was designed to establish use of the telephone as a means of delivering nursing care in a New Zealand ambulatory cancer centre. All calls made to or from nurses at the Cancer Centre: Outpatient Services over a two-week period were recorded on a Telephone Log. Calls were divided into two categories: either calls relating to patient care or calls relating to the administration and process of everyday nursing activities. The Telephone Logs were then analysed to describe the characteristics of calls such as length, initiator and purpose. Patient care calls were further analysed to reveal nursing response to calls and the impact that calls had on the service. Results from this study detail the characteristics of calls to a New Zealand cancer centre and the impact that these calls have on the service. The scope of nursing activities undertaken over the telephone is also revealed. Finally, the findings of this study are used to recommend initiatives that improve nurses' ability to work over the telephone, and to validate and support this important nursing activity.