看護師として働く小児がん経験者が闘病体験を意味づけるプロセス

A Meaning-Making Process of Childhood Cancer Survivors Working as Nurses Regarding Their Illness Experience

要旨

　目的：看護師として働く小児がん経験者が闘病体験を意味づけるプロセスを明らかにする．

　方法：看護師として働く小児がん経験者7名にインタビューを行い，TEM（複線径路・等至性モデル）を用いて分析した．

　結果：入院治療に伴い，【見えない出口に入院治療の意味を探求】する闘病は，時間の経過とともに【楽しい共同生活】となる．治療終了後に社会に戻ると【刺さる偏見の目による傷心】となるが，後に【特別な体験】とし【病者に還元できる軌跡】として看護師を目指すようになる．看護師として闘病体験は【類似病者への支援の源】と意味づけ【自己形成の構成要素】を経て【患者への共感性の基軸】であると意味づけていた．

　結論：看護師として働く小児がん経験者が闘病体験を意味づけるプロセスは，闘病体験を患者への共感性の基軸として看護に活用していくプロセスであった．小児がんの闘病体験を活かし，尊厳を持って生きている様が示された．

　Objective: To clarify the process by which childhood cancer survivors working as nurses make meaning from their experience with cancer.

　Method: This study was a qualitative study using the Trajectory Equifinality Model (TEM) Interviews were conducted with seven childhood cancer survivors who work as nurses.

　Results: For childhood cancer survivors working as nurses, their struggle with illness meant finding meaning in their hospital treatment, or "searching for an invisible exit." However, they later came to view it as "enjoyable community life in the hospital." After completing treatment and returning to society, they experienced "heartbreak due to prejudice," but later came to view it as "a special experience" and "a way to give back to others with an illness." After becoming nurses, they began to view their struggle with illness as "support for others with the same illness" and "a part of self-development." They also began to interpret it as "the basis for empathizing with patients."

　Conclusion: The process by which childhood cancer survivors working as nurses make meaning from their struggle with illness was a process of utilizing their struggle as a basis for empathy with patients in nursing. These findings suggest that childhood cancer survivors are living with dignity, drawing on their experience with cancer.