The newly registered nurse and the cancer patient: an educational evaluation.

This paper reports a study which aimed to develop an understanding of newly registered nurses' attitudes, knowledge, confidence and educational needs in relation to cancer care. An educational intervention designed to meet these nurses' needs was then developed and evaluated with 127 newly registered nurses from two general hospitals. Nurses attended two different educational interventions; one group of nurses completing a 3 day experiential workshop; and a second group attended a more formal seminar programme. A third group of nurses who were unable to obtain study leave were followed up as a control group. A triangulation strategy was used to collect data from different sources, and included a baseline study, and a study of nurses before, after and 3 months following the educational interventions. Data from the study revealed the perceived need and desire for more education on cancer care, and the strong association of cancer with death amongst newly registered nurses. Significant benefits to those nurses attending the workshop were demonstrated. These differences were however less obvious at 3 months follow-up.