“What am I Going to Say Here?” The Experiences of Doctors and Nurses Communicating with Patients in a Cancer Unit

This paper describes a study investigating the provider–patient communication perceptions, experiences, needs, and strategies of doctors and nurses working together in a UK cancer setting. This was a qualitative study using individual interviews and focus group discussions. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to underpin data collection and analysis. Twenty-six staff participated in the project (18 nurses and 8 doctors). Both professional groups identified an inherent emotional strain in their daily interactions with patients. The strategies they adopted to reduce this strain fell into two main categories: (1) Handling or managing the patient to keep negative emotion at bay; and (2) Managing self to keep negative emotion at bay. These strategies allowed staff to maintain a sense of control in an emotionally stressful environment. Most believed that their communication skills were sufficient. In conclusion, communicating with and caring for cancer patients causes considerable psychosocial burden for doctors and nurses. Managing this burden influences their communication with patients. Without recognition of the need for staff to protect their own emotional well-being, communication skills training programs, emphasized in current UK cancer care guidelines, may have little impact on practice.