Patients with cancer can easily become overloaded with information about diagnosis, prognosis, treatments and side effects. One of a nurse's most important roles is to help patients and their families make sense of this, providing support and information through their cancer journey. However, many barriers exist, including the nurse's own knowledge limitations, time constraints and the patient's engagement with the nurse. This article uses critical reflection to evaluate an incident from clinical practice involving a patient with prostate cancer suffering from a distressing side effect of treatment: urinary incontinence following a transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). The paper examines nurse-patient communication, and evaluates how nurses can use communication strategies to minimise patient distress. Practical approaches to managing urinary incontinence are also discussed. This paper demonstrates that critical reflection is a valuable learning process that can alter clinical nursing practice to provide the best care for people with cancer.

Naomi Farrington - Clinical Academic Fellow and Staff Nurse, University of Southampton

Kay Townsend - Lecturer, University of Southampton