Being a work family: A constructivist grounded theory exploring staff experiences of working in children's blood and cancer centres in Aotearoa

Abstract

Background: Working in children’s blood and cancer centres has been recognised in the literature as emotionally taxing and physically demanding. Despite this, there is little literature that explores staff experiences of working in the area. Studies within the children’s blood and cancer setting to date have largely explored the negative effects of working in this area and focused on a sole discipline. A small number of studies have explored resilience as a way of mitigating these effects in small groups of nursing staff. Aim: To develop a theory to explain staff experiences of working in children’s blood and cancer centres in Aotearoa, with a particular focus on maintaining resilience in their work. Methods Constructivist grounded theory methods were used to explore staff experiences of working in children’s blood and cancer centres in Aotearoa. Resilience was used as a sensitising concept throughout the study. Focus groups and individual interviews were carried out with staff working in the area. All professions and disciplines were included in the study, including nursing, medical, allied health and support staff. Findings: This study identified that all staff share similar experiences regardless of the role or professional group they associate with. Being a work family is the constructed grounded theory of the present research. Staff new to the environment of a children’s blood and cancer centre venture through a process of finding attachment to their colleagues and wider work family. Critical to this process is the ability to have a mentor, or ‘aunty’ or ‘uncle’ figure, to support the new staff member to become part of the work family. In becoming a work family, staff work closely as a team, develop shared values, and share the success and burden experienced within the unit on a daily basis. These factors all support the family to work towards the common goal of quality care for children and their whānau. The final category - having an identity describes how staff see themselves within the family, and how the family identifies as a collective. Conclusion: While children’s blood and cancer centres remain a challenging environment to work in, this study has demonstrated the value in being a work family. Considering a social approach to resilience also has value. A social approach recognises the collective experiences of the group and acknowledges that all staff have similar experiences and can be supported in a family, sharing both the success and burdens of the work.