2 replies to this topic

[wife,mom,student]

Hello everyone!! I will be starting the Bachelor Program in Aug 05.... This may be early but I believe hospice nursing is something that I am interested in...Can any one advise me on this?
Please pray for my husband, he is in Iraq and I am going to school full time, working part time and raising 4 daughters!!!

[Kaliki]

Hi, and I will pray for you and your kids and husband--I appreciate his sacrifice. I have been a hospice nurse for about 13 years now, and still love it. If you are just getting your degree, it is probably a good idea to work in a hospital for a year or so to learn how to *do* stuff ( like inserting catheters, using PEG tubes, drawing blood, giving IV meds, and basic practical knowledge about disease process. ) You could ask for dying patients during this time, (nobody else wants them, and they tend to be neglected.) I don't know if you live in a city, but there are several ways to be a hospice nurse. You can work for a community based for profit or not for profit company, and be a nurse who travels to people's homes (or NF, or ALF, or hospital). Some places have hospice facilities where you can practice in the same place (sort of like a hospital, but way more homey). Some hospitals have a hospice or palliative care unit ( I found this really rewarding). You can really receive training on the job--requires a good understanding of pain and symptom control. Hospice nurses have a way better grip on pain management than any given MD--they don't seem to study it much . Right now I am an admissions nurse--don't have a case load, but am the first one to meet with a family and sign them up, order equipment, get new med orders, etc. The job is incredibly independent, so you have to have confidence. I can call an MD and ask for orders for narcotics, steroids, etc. and they always just say yes because they know we know what we are talking about. We have time to talk to our families and hold their hands and prepare them for the pt's death. I know that when I finish admitting a pt. they already feel betteer for having the support, and when their meds are delivered, their pain or sumptoms will be betteer controlled. It is very satisfying.

[Jen RN]

Hi - In regard to the question about extra training being required for hospice, my personal advice would be to get at least a year of med/surg experience before going onto anything else. I think any specialized area, whether it is ICU, L & D, telemetry, endoscopy, hospice, or whatever...a year on Med/Surg gives you invaluable experience in time management, dealing with families and physicians, learning all the basic skills, medications, and a ton of other things that will be important to you in any field you pursue. I felt like my year of Med/Surg 13 years ago was like "paying my dues"....it was very hard work, but I learned so much that helped me along as I pursued Telemetry, then ICU, then CVR. You learn a a lot in nursing school of course, but it is experience that will provide your greatest learning opportunities. When I left Cardiovascular Recovery for Hospice, I was really worried about losing my skills....I now see it as gaining new ones. I may not be doing hemodynamic monitoring or blood gas analysis, etc., but this basis of knowledge I learned in the hospital is something I can still use in hospice or any other field I may choose. I hope this advice is helpful to you, and I would love to read what others have to say on this subject as well...jEn