Community palliative care clinical nurse specialists’ descriptions of stress in their work

This study analysed the lived experiences of work stress of 21 community palliative care clinical nurse specialists from four centres in urban Essex, UK. Data were collected using an open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Three major themes emerged: pressure of workload; relationships with health professionals; and the impact of the sadness of the client group. The pressure of workload was associated with nine sub-themes including staff shortages, client's or professionals' misperceptions of role, changing role, and erosion of normal support systems at work or at home. Relationships with some general practitioners seemed to cause most difficulty and social services seemed to have different priorities and to respond slowly. The impact of the sadness of the client group was only seen in four distinct situations. An overwork stress spiral is described that provides a salutary warning for managers, but also offers interesting solutions.