Pleasure and suffering in the work of palliative oncology nurses: A reflective discursive presentation

Abstract

In palliative care, nursing work is characterized by the concept of suffering as nurses cope with not only the death of patients, but also challenges with interacting with families. This suffering however, if offset by the concept of pleasure, as patients find meaning in illness, pain, and in the acceptance of death as a natural process, which generates pleasure. This reflective discursive presentation is based on the theoretical framework of Dejours’ psychodynamics of work and highlights the area of palliative oncology nursing as a source of suffering and pleasure. The daily life of palliative oncology nurses, subjectivity at work, and constant interactions between psychic, social, individual, and collective factors are discussed. In their clinical practice, palliative oncology nurses break with the prescribed way of engaging in care while building on various meanings of work that transforms and is also transformed. Considerations related to the need for teaching and research activities to examine pleasure and suffering in palliative oncology nursing is presented.