Anne Fiore’s important original research has provided a deeper understanding and appreciation of the surgical experience and how patients manage in its aftermath.
A nurse practitioner with the Orthopaedic Oncology Service and Centers for Sarcoma & Chordoma at Mass General, Anne recently completed her doctorate in Nursing Practice. Her qualitative research won the 2016 MGH Orthopaedic Clinical Research award. Through interviews with patients, Anne took an in-depth look at how patients cope with major oncology surgery. The everyday challenges, quality-of-life consequences and unmet needs of these patients were revealed through their thoughts and feelings describing their profound experience.
The interviews revealed how dramatically patients’ lives had changed because of their surgery, whether this was through physical limitations, chronic pain, unrealistic expectations or unforeseen complications. The patients Anne interviewed gave concrete recommendations for healthcare providers to help them better prepare patients for life after a major, staged surgery.
When speaking about Anne’s research, Francis Hornicek, MD, PhD, chief of the Orthopaedic Oncology Service, says, “This research gives us valuable information about how to better communicate and better prepare our patients for surgery and hospitalization, but more importantly, how to make their transition back home easier. We need to prepare them the best we can before their surgery, after their surgery and throughout their cancer care continuum.”
