The role of listening to nurse-focused songs to cope with work-related emotions in oncology nurses: an exploratory study

BACKGROUND: Oncology nurses experience work-related stress and difficult emotions related to sustained exposure to patient suffering, death, and moral distress. While creative and music-based approaches have been explored to support nurses' emotional well-being, little is known about the acceptability and perceived helpfulness of listening to nurse-focused songs previously written for their nursing peers. METHODS: An exploratory, proof-of-concept, qualitative design. Participants were recruited throughout the United States. They listened to a playlist of songs, previously written for oncology nurses, for two weeks. Focus groups explored participants' experiences listening to the songs. Data were analyzed using conventional content analysis. RESULTS: Five oncology nurses participated. Analysis revealed one overarching theme, Connection, with three interrelated subthemes describing participants' connections to their work-related emotions, professional identity, and colleagues. Participants' responses indicated variability in acceptability and perceived helpfulness. CONCLUSIONS: Listening to nurse-focused songs was acceptable and meaningful for some oncology nurses and may offer a reflective and relational resource for coping with work-related stress and emotions. Findings highlight individual differences in preferences and readiness for emotional engagement and support further investigation to refine and evaluate curated music-listening approaches for nurses.