Abstract
This article reports on data that address palliative care cancer nurses' perceptions of the importance of depression as a clinical problem, their use of self-rating depression tools, and their ability to assess and treat depression. A random sample (N = 194) of palliative care nurses belonging to the Oncology Nursing Society was surveyed by mail using a case study. The response rate was 37%. Although depression was rated as the most important clinical issue in the vignette and 98% of the nurses reported that they were adequately prepared to assess and treat depression, only 54% indicated that they would mention the patient's depression to the physician or further assess the patient for depression. The majority reported not using any self-rating depression scales in their practice and indicated that they were unfamiliar with depression scales. Implications for nursing practice are addressed.