Cancer nurses are fundamental to the delivery of quality cancer care, yet the workforce sustaining Australia's cancer system is under serious strain. As treatment becomes increasingly personalised and complex, understanding and addressing the experiences of cancer nurses is essential to workforce sustainability, workplace culture, and patient outcomes.
This presentation draws on the Cancer Nursing Workforce Project, led with the Cancer Nurses Society of Australia: a national cross-sectional survey of 930 cancer nurses benchmarked against AHPRA registration data, and qualitative analysis of free-text responses from over 600 nurses. We examined education, qualifications, scope of practice, job satisfaction and roles across geographical settings.
The findings reveal a paradox: a highly qualified, experienced workforce (80% with more than 10 years' experience; 70% postgraduate-qualified) that finds the work deeply rewarding, yet 58% intend to leave cancer nursing within 10 years. Managing high workload was reported as a challenge by 88%, almost triple the proportion reported two decades ago. Job satisfaction was strongly predicted by modifiable workplace factors. Working to the full extent of knowledge and skills, career progression opportunities and peer support elevated satisfaction, while lack of leadership and insufficient resources to provide quality care eroded it. Cancer nurses with professional development opportunities were 11 times more likely to report high job satisfaction; those reporting a lack of leadership were 8 times less likely. Nurses themselves proposed solutions across four areas: enhancing education and career pathways, investing in workforce numbers and safe ratios, addressing compassion fatigue, and strengthening nursing leadership and recognition.
Retention is a culture outcome. This presentation translates what nurses told us into practical actions for health services, policymakers and the multidisciplinary team, because the precision generation of cancer care will only be delivered if the nurses delivering it are supported to stay.