The care of incurable ill seems to be a current topic because of modernization of health care curing today the states and diseases from which people used to die much earlier than today. From this reason, there is more and more incurably ill people and the role of nurse counsellor for the incurably ill is more and more significant. The nurse counsellor´ s task should be especially to be near the incurable ill and their families, to help them to orient themselves in this demanding situation, to provide important information and as the case may be to help them in the provision of more suitable care. Goals C1 have been set for this work ``To find out the idea the laic public has about the care in the situations after having found out that they would have been incurably ill``; C2: ``To find out the care assistant staff opinion on the possibility of utilizing the nurse counsellor in the care of incurably ill``; C3: ``To find out the possibilities of utilizing the nurse counsellor in the care of incurably ill`` and C4: `` To find out who should be the provider of counselling care after the client finds out that he is incurable ill``. Furthermore, hypotheses have been set H1: The counsellor nurse is able to intervene based on the problematic of the care being expressed by laic public in case of finding out an incurable illness``. H2: ``The care assistant staff does not consider the counsellor nurse´s role real because of not specified competences in the relevant legislation``. H3: ``The care assistant staff confuses the educator nurse´s role and the counsellor nurse´s role``. Qualitative-quantitative investigation has been conducted. In the qualitative part, the research set for the interview consisted of 4 nurses from oncological, surgical, out-patient and neurological department and 4 lays. The research set of the research investigation quantitative part consisted of 116 respondents: nurses from the subsequent care, out-patient, surgical, neurological and oncological department at the hospital Nemocnice České Budějovice, a. s. and at the St. J.N.Neumanna hospice in Prachatice; and further 112 respondents-lays. From the evaluated results, it can be concluded that both the nurses and lays are interested in a counsellor nurse whose utilization would be, however, problematic because of not specified competences in the legislation. Further on it is necessary to emphasise the dominant value ensued from the research investigation {--} the family``.

The hospice volunteer is viewed as an integral member of a multidisciplinary team, with various roles directed at enhancing the quality of life of patients and their families. The purpose of this study is to provide an integrated picture of the hospice volunteer, their role, the human dimensions of this role and the impact this has on their lives as not much has been written in literature about this specific sub-group of hospice workers. The context of the study is a hospice in Gauteng where the researcher works as a volunteer. The ethnographic case study has been chosen as an appropriate research design as it explores the above phenomenon from the volunteers' point of view. The subjects are three volunteers who have been active at the hospice for at least twelve months. Evidence in terms of specific interviews and observations are used to draw conclusions. The interviews are based on a minimal number of open-ended questions. The primary method of analysis is the examination of transcripts from these in-depth interviews. A thematic analysis is carried out in which a detailed description of the emerging themes are given. Four major themes are identified and explored: Description of the role; The experience of being a volunteer; A way of coping; and The influence of the hospice culture. Sub-themes that emerge within each case study vary due to the individual nature of the experience of the role. Themes are explored in light of current theory and findings. This was to note the similarities and differences of this specific sub-group of volunteers compared to others found in the literature reviewed for this study. As there is a scarcity of literature pertaining specifically to hospice volunteers, the study depends mostly on writings pertaining to hospice staff and volunteers in general. A summary and integration of the core findings of the three case studies is given and their similarities and differences are explored. How some of the different themes interlink is also discussed. Although various sub-themes found in the individual case studies are significant to the individual cases, some of them can be incorporated into common themes when looking at the volunteers as a group. The strengths and limitations of the study are discussed as well as recommendations for the hospice organisation and further research. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

The hospice volunteer is viewed as an integral member of a multidisciplinary team, with various roles directed at enhancing the quality of life of patients and their families. The purpose of this study is to provide an integrated picture of the hospice volunteer, their role, the human dimensions of this role and the impact this has on their lives as not much has been written in literature about this specific sub-group of hospice workers. The context of the study is a hospice in Gauteng where the researcher works as a volunteer. The ethnographic case study has been chosen as an appropriate research design as it explores the above phenomenon from the volunteers' point of view. The subjects are three volunteers who have been active at the hospice for at least twelve months. Evidence in terms of specific interviews and observations are used to draw conclusions. The interviews are based on a minimal number of open-ended questions. The primary method of analysis is the examination of transcripts from these in-depth interviews. A thematic analysis is carried out in which a detailed description of the emerging themes are given. Four major themes are identified and explored: Description of the role; The experience of being a volunteer; A way of coping; and The influence of the hospice culture. Sub-themes that emerge within each case study vary due to the individual nature of the experience of the role. Themes are explored in light of current theory and findings. This was to note the similarities and differences of this specific sub-group of volunteers compared to others found in the literature reviewed for this study. As there is a scarcity of literature pertaining specifically to hospice volunteers, the study depends mostly on writings pertaining to hospice staff and volunteers in general. A summary and integration of the core findings of the three case studies is given and their similarities and differences are explored. How some of the different themes interlink is also discussed. Although various sub-themes found in the individual case studies are significant to the individual cases, some of them can be incorporated into common themes when looking at the volunteers as a group. The strengths and limitations of the study are discussed as well as recommendations for the hospice organisation and further research. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)