Literature Review

Rediscovering purpose in the hardest moments of cancer care Medscape; by Mark A. Lewis, MD; 11/7/25 ... I'm a GI oncologist, and about a quarter of my patients have metastatic pancreatic cancer. Treat that awful disease often enough and, believe me, you start to doubt your own abilities as a supposed healer. I mean, talk about overpromising and underdelivering. ... When you judge your worth by your outcomes, especially longevity, imposter syndrome sets in like dry rot, and feelings of ineffectiveness lead to therapeutic nihilism in the very caregiver that patients look to for hope. It turns out, though, the best antidote to self-pity is right in front of me every day: my patients. ...

Rowan and Bayada Home Health Care to strengthen nursing workforce with innovative partnership Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ; Press Release; 11/18/25 “More. Great. Nurses”: That was the chant echoing through the room as BAYADA founder and chairman of the board Mark Baiada energized the crowd during a ceremonial signing event on Nov. 17 at Rowan University. The celebration launched a new agreement between Rowan and BAYADA Home Health Care, the nation’s largest independent nonprofit home health care provider. The partnership creates a debt-free pathway for aspiring nurses and expands access to high-quality home health care in the region.

When health care teams run short, physician burnout rises American Medical Association (AMA); by Sara Berg, MS; 11/4/25 ... Drawing on data from the AMA Organizational Biopsy®, the study reveals that inadequate team staffing was also linked to physicians’ intentions to cut clinical hours or leave their organizations. The findings underscore how sustained workforce shortages and daily understaffing continue to affect morale and retention in medicine long after the acute phase of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Participants included 970 physicians from 15 organizations.

What is the best way for CNOs to tackle change management? healthleaders; by G Hatfield; 11/10/25 CNOs need to be equipped to support their nurses throughout times of change. With many constant changes happening in healthcare, from mergers and acquisitions, to leadership changes, to new technology implementation. All of these shifting variables have major impacts on the nursing workforce in any health system and can cause major disruptions in workflow and nurse wellbeing. CNOs must also keep in mind that big changes affect patients as well. The challenge for nurse leaders lies in handling that change with patience, confidence, and clear intentions. CNOs must design change management strategies that are inclusive, transparent, and responsive, while being as communicative as possible throughout the entire process.

Bereavement support for oncology nurses caring for patients and families Journal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing; Tami Borneman, RN, MSN, CNS, FPCN, Paige Hayward, and Haley Buller, MSHSC; 10/28/25 Six themes emerged from the open-ended question that asked participants to share case studies describing a patient or family member that they had cared for who was experiencing grief and nurse interventions: (1) treatment failure/out of options, (2) unexpected death or recent loss, (3) impending death, (4) multiple or overlapping losses, (5) coping, and (6) anticipatory grief. 

Developing person-centred care in hospices through the voice and leadership of nursing: lessons from the United Kingdom Frontiers in Helath Services; by Erna Haraldsdottir, Marie Cooper, Heather Richardson; 10/15/25 Conclusion and implications for practice: Humanising healthcare is a global agenda, and within hospice care, nurses are at the heart of transforming care to be more person-centred. They are well-positioned to reclaim the core principles of palliative care, as developed by Cicely Saunders, and push back against the medical model that has overshadowed the development and integration of palliative care into current healthcare systems. Nurses are expert practitioners and leaders who hold positions of authority within their organisations. Yet, for many, their change-making potential is not realised. 

VITAS and Miami Dade College partner to shape the next generation of compassionate nurses South Florida Hospital News and Healthcare Report; by Daniel Casciato; 11/1/25 For Miami Dade College (MDC) nursing students Khadijah Norelus and Shanel Cantave, the decision to pursue nursing came from deeply personal experiences. Shanel was inspired after nearly losing her father to a hemorrhagic stroke. Khadijah’s calling was born when she witnessed the care and compassion a hospice nurse gave her cousin in his final moments. Today, both women are VITAS Scholars—recipients of the Miami Dade College LPN Scholarship supported by hospice provider VITAS Healthcare—and represent the next generation of caregivers preparing to serve South Florida’s communities amid a national nursing shortage.

Four nurses in two weeks assaulted at Essentia Hospitals: Nurses say violence is a consequence of unsafe staffing and inaction Minnesota Nurses Association, Brainer, MN; Press Release; 10/28/25Nurses with the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA) are once again outraged and deeply concerned after two more violent assaults on nurses at Essentia Health. A nurse at Essentia Health St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Brainerd was attacked by a patient last Thursday, followed by another assault at the same facility over the weekend. The latest incidents come less than two weeks after two nurses were injured at Essentia Health St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth. Four nurses assaulted in under two weeks reflects a dangerous pattern in Essentia facilities—one that nurses have been warning about for years.Editor's Note: Continue reading for preventable actions and red flags, "True safety comes from care-based prevention." These were hospital settings; the home care settings your staff and volunteers enter provide much higher risks with less control. Ask your direct care staff for examples of professional situations that were unsafe. Office-based leaders, you might be surprised. Examine your workplace violence policies, procedures, trainings, incident reporting, and follow-up.

Three tried-and-true strategies AHCA Gold Quality Award winners use to land and keep staff McKnights Long-Term Care News, Las Vegas, NV; by Kimberly Marselas; 10/22/25 Leaders of three of the nation’s best-performing nursing homes shared ... outside-the-box recruitment and retention strategies that have made robust staffing the linchpin of their respective quality-improvement journeys. ... Here, McKnight’s Long-Term Care News shares a few of the role model practices Peters and her two 2025 Gold National Quality Award peers rely on to create staff loyalty, even in highly competitive markets.

How leaders can learn to listen: Emotional intelligence and aligned purpose can transform the way teams communicate and get results Comstock's Magazine; by Laurie Lauletta-Boshart; 10/20/25 ... Jessica Kriegel, who has a Ph.D. in human resources development and educational leadership and management, ... worked with Joshua’s House Hospice, a Sacramento nonprofit organization that provides hospice care to terminally ill homeless men and women, to determine the best way to hire employees who would stay long term. “They were looking to attract the right talent, but also wanted to retain that talent and make sure they were motivated and fulfilled in their work,” says Kriegel. Instead of a culture fit, Kriegel and her team advanced a purpose fit, where the organization’s purpose and the personal purpose of those they hired were aligned.

Stories from an accidental Hospice Nurse by Shawn Brast, MSN, RN, CHPN ehospice; by Shawn Brast, Clinical Education Manager at Gilchrist Hospice in Baltimore; 10/9/25 ...  The strangest thing happened: after 30+ years in healthcare, I found my calling as a hospice nurse. Routinely, I am granted special access to some of the most intimate moments in patients’ and families’ lives. With my short experience as a hospice nurse, I have come across some awe-inspiring moments that have provided life lessons that must be shared for the greater good. ... [Shawn describes several hospice stories with his insights.] These types of “Aha!” moments continued since these three experiences, but it was these three experiences that set my direction to answer my calling. In doing so, I am becoming a better person, clinician, educator, researcher, student, husband and father.

Central Coast VNA & Hospice expands registered nursing care for hospice patients in Monterey County US National Times, Monterey, CA; 10/13/25 In response to increasing community needs, Central Coast VNA & Hospice has announced expanded support for registered nursing care and interdisciplinary hospice services across Monterey County, Salinas, Hollister, Santa Cruz, and surrounding Central Coast regions. The organization continues its mission to provide home-based, compassionate care through its nonprofit model serving families navigating complex health challenges, including terminal illness.

The Exec: Hamilton Medical Center CMO on incremental successes in change management HealthLeaders; by Christopher Cheney; 10/13/25 In healthcare, attempts to make changes quickly at a grand scale are often unsuccessful, this CMO says. The primary element of success in change management is to pursue a strategy that emphasizes small and incremental changes, according to [Ricard Perez] the new CMO of Hamilton Medical Center in Dalton, Georgia. ... If you are going to be affecting people's daily work lives, your best bet for success is to make sure that those people have some representation at the table," Perez says. "Once you have stakeholders at the table, they can become advocates and catalysts for change because they will have an intricate understanding of why change needs to happen."