Background Emotional labour can lead to emotional exhaustion and burnout, which contributes to a high turnover in the nursing workforce.

Aim The study had three aims: to investigate how nurses working on an oncology and haematology ward managed the emotional labour involved in patient care; to determine whether there were differences in resilience and coping strategies between less experienced and more experienced participants; and to explore strategies that could assist less experienced nurses in managing the emotional labour of patient care.

Method A preparatory literature review was undertaken, following which six registered nurses participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes in the interview transcripts.

Findings The themes that emerged were divided into two broad categories: factors that contributed to the challenging nature of nursing shifts and factors that reduced the challenging nature of nursing shifts. The second category had two subcategories: personal resources and institutional resources. Personal resources included experience, resilience, coping mechanisms, support networks and compassion satisfaction. Institutional resources included training and team support.

Conclusion There was no clear differences in coping strategies between less experienced and more experienced nurses. To mitigate the negative effects of emotional labour, oncology and haematology nurses could benefit from stress management training and ongoing clinical supervision with a focus on the restorative aspect.