CN11 - The challenges of the multidisciplinary work of nurses in the international department at Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus

Background

The International department (IND) at Gustave Roussy tends to offer the highest expertise in cancer care to a wide variety of foreign patients (pts) with distinct cultural backgrounds. Therefore, nurses (NU) of the IND have the most holistic job where they are required to provide an individualized physical, emotional and psychosocial support to international pts. In this paper, we delve into the characteristics and the daily activities of NU in the IND to shed light on their challenges and their multitasking role in the IND.

Methods

This is a retrospective analysis of hospitalized pts in the IND at Gustave Roussy between January 1 and December 31 2023. Clinical and demographic data were retrieved as well as the characteristics and activities of the NU. The IND is composed of 20 beds for hospitalization and 4 chairs for chemotherapy day Unit.

Results

251 cancer pts were included. During that year, there were 646 admissions. There were 145 women (57.8%) while median age was 56 yrs (range: 19 -89). The most common country of origin was Kuwait (200 pts, 79.7%) followed by Algeria (16, 6.4%), Egypt (8, 3.2%) and Morocco and Saudi Arabia with five each (2%). The most common primary site of cancer was in the digestive system (65 pts, 25.9%) followed by breast (49, 19.5%), hematology (40, 15.9%), gynecological (27, 10.7%), thoracic (21, 8.4%) and soft tissue sarcomas (18, 7.2%). Other sites were urological tumors (11, 4.4%), Head and neck (10, 4%) and neuroendocrine (3, 1.2%). In the chemotherapy day unit, there were 1261 admissions, mainly for chemotherapy with one nurse in charge of pts (mean of 4.85 pts per day). The day nursing team is composed of 10 NU. There were 3.11 nurses during the day thus a mean of 6.43 pts (6 or 7 pts/nurse) while at night there were 2 NU (10 pts/nurse). Mean age of NU was 26.9 yrs. All NU spoke 2 languages (French and English) and 2 spoke Arabic (20%).

Conclusions

The Multifaceted challenges of the nursing job in the IND can be physically exhausting and mentally draining due to the need to manage pts from different oncology specialties with distinct therapeutic protocols. Nevertheless, working in a multidisciplinary oncology department with diverse perspectives can be enriching and insightful, both on the cultural and professional level.

Clinical trial identification

Editorial acknowledgement

Legal entity responsible for the study

The authors.

Funding

Has not received any funding.

Disclosure

All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.