Perioperative Palliative Care Considerations for Surgical Oncology Nurses.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the opportunities to incorporate palliative care into perioperative oncology patient management and education strategies for surgical oncology nurses.

DATA SOURCES: Articles related to palliative care and surgical oncology to determine the degree of integration, gaps, and implications for practice.

CONCLUSION: Although evidence supports positive patient outcomes when palliative care is integrated in the perioperative period, uptake of palliative care into surgical settings is slow. Palliative care concepts are not adequately integrated into surgical and nursing education.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: With appropriate palliative care education and training, surgical oncology nurses will be empowered to foster surgical-palliative care collaborations to improve patient outcomes.