1 reply to this topic

[Jen RN]

Hi!! I'm new to this forum...I'm a hospice RN case manager. I generally see 3 - 5 patients a day in their homes. This is one of those jobs where you can't really come home and tell your family about your day, as I have finally realized. Death is an everyday part of my life...but not everyone else wants to hear about it. It's also a field that makes you need to talk, and besides my co-workers, there isn't really anyone that wants to hear about my nurse stories. I guess it was the same when I worked in the acute setting, but now I am happy when I see my name mentioned in someone's obituary. My kids think its kinda weird. My husband thinks it's depressing and offers no comments whatsoever about my daily events. Anyway...any hospice nurses out there who want to share stories or anyone have questions about this field? Love to talk, jEn

[Kaliki]

Hi, Jen-- Yes, I know what you mean. When I try to tell my family about something that really moved me, or is really sad, there is a brief silence, and then the conversation resumes. I have been an RN working in hospice for about 13 years, now. At the present I am an admissions nurse (you know, first one on the barricades). You know, you see and hear the most incredible things! I love this job, but it really does have an effect on you. I feel I don't have the luxury of denial--you know, that will never happen to me, because I don't smoke, or whatever. I know all the scary details of what happens to people for every diagnosis under the sun. On the other hand, it makes me value the little things, like holding my grandbaby, because I am acutely aware that someday everything will change. I think I am pretty good at maintaining "professional boundaries", but I still carry around a little core of sorrow. I know there is an afterlife, because, obviously, dying people talk about what they are experiencing all the time. I would love to discuss these things with you, if your still game. l