Hospice Nurse Role

Our philosophy, embodied through a Hospice Heart, is to give comfort and support to patients and families beginning with our Pathways Palliative Care program, focusing on the patient and families during the end-of-life transition, and ultimately helping the families meet their spiritual and grieving needs

This author’s personal perceptions concerning patients facing a lingering terminal illness, have been shaped by over 20 years of critical care nursing experience. Facing death and illness on a daily basis requires self-examination and a high degree of comfort with one’s own mortality, limits and values. Constant exposure to the fragility of life forces respect for the whole person and the people who love them. A general approach to patients who are actively dying is to allow them to define what they want and need during this time. The nurse’s role

The hospice nurse should evaluate the ability of the patient and the family to cope because through that assessment the nurse can obtain more information about the patient. You can identify risks and symptoms of distress. The hospice nurse, especially the case manager, is responsible for evaluating and managing the care of a patient. Addressing loss, grief, and bereavement needs begin at the time of hospice with the initial evaluation and continue during the course of care.

I knew as time went on that I wanted to be a hospice nurse and give back to the patients and families that were experiencing the same things my family went through. Since I have been able to experience it on the other side I have more knowledge and sympathy of what the patient and families really need out of a hospice nurse during the last stages of life. During the time my mother was being cared for I had the opportunity to get my CNA and be hired on by Elevation and care for my mother. My mother passed away January 18, 2016. I am still working with Elevation as the CNA coordinator and office manager.

Death is inevitable. It is one of the only certainties in life. Regardless, people are often uncomfortable discussing death. Nyatanga (2016) posits that the idea of no longer existing increases anxiety and emotional distress in relation to one’s mortality. Because of the difficulty in level of care for end-of-life patients, the patient and the family often need professional assistance for physical and emotional care. Many family caregivers are not professionally trained in medicine, and this is where hospice comes into play. Hospice aims to meet the holistic needs of both the patient and the patient’s family through treatment plans, education, and advocacy. There is a duality of care to the treatment provided by hospice staff in that they do not attempt to separate the patient’s care from the family’s care. Leming and Dickinson (2011) support that hospice, unlike other clinical fields, focuses on the patient and the family together instead of seeing the patient independent of the family. Many times in hospitals, the medical team focuses solely on the goal of returning the patient back to health in order for them to return to their normal lives. They do not take into account the psychological and spiritual components of the patient’s journey and the journey that the family must take as well. For treatment of the patient, Leming and Dickinson agree that hospice does not attempt to cure patients, and instead concentrates solely

The hospice nurse play role as case managers and advocates for patients. Their task is to monitor the

Patients that qualify or use palliative care also have a terminal diagnosis but usually have a longer life expectancy than those with hospice. The definition for hospice and palliative care is something many nursing students learn during their program. Young-Ran, Min, and Kyoung-Soon (2015) found in a study that 70% of nurses in a general hospital setting that had cared for a terminal patient had no prior education or training for palliative care. Nursing education continues to evolve in attempts to better prepare nursing students for life after their program completion. Attempts to better familiarize students with end of life care some programs are using simulation. Simulation has been found to be an effective method of teaching when related to high stress and emotional situations (Moreland, Lemieux, and Myers, 2012). It is great that there have been attempts to increase the amount of education in this specialty area especially since 76% of dying patients are receiving nursing care at time of death (Moreland, Lemieux, and Myers, 2012). Now it will be important for current nurses and educators to continue to increase the amount of information provided in nursing programs and to novice nurses about hospice and palliative specialty

Death is a part of life and eventually everyone on this earth will experience it. Nurses play an important role in death. Mourning the death of a loved one is something that almost everyone will experience in this lifetime because it is a natural response to death. Bereavement, grief and mourning are all effected by one’s culture, religion, the relationship with the deceased, personality, and how the person died.

Nurses: Assist the patients and families to cope with the end-of-life process such as assessing and

Registered Nursing takes skilled and hard working people. There are many jobs in the Nursing field. To name a few, there are: Hospice Nurses, Long Term Care Facility Nurses, ER Nurses, Pediatric Nurses, Geriatric Nurses, Acute Care Nurses, etc. Hospice Nurses are jobs taken by people that are strong hearted and strong willed. I had an experience with a Hospice Nurse in a job shadow. I went to the houses of her patients instead of a facility. We went to three different houses to take care of her assigned residents. Her patients loved her very much and she did her job with love and care. Three days after my experience with her, one of her residents passed away. They had a great patient and nurse relationship. She was filled with sadness and I also felt sad for the resident’s family and other caregivers that cared for him. Hospice patients are only said to live about six months or less. Not all residents pass away after six months, some live longer. Hospice care is given to patients that are dying, but hospice can also go on pause because the patient becomes more independent. The job of hospice nurses is to take care of the resident nearing the time of death, not to cure their diseases. My job shadow said that it is always sad when her patients go, but she knows that they are not suffering like they were when they were living. The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization states, “Hospice care professionals and volunteers provide services that address all of the

Hospice exists in the hope and belief that, through proper care and the encouragement of a caring and sensitive team, patients and their families may be free to achieve some level of mental and spiritual preparation for death that is comfortable to them. The goal is to help

The assessments of the patient in an end of life situation must occur frequently as to detect rapid and/or minimal changes in the patient’s condition. It is also the primary nurse’s role to report any and all changes to the multidisciplinary team, including the family members.

Hospice is compassionate care provided to patients facing terminal illness or illness for which there is no cure. These patients are diagnosed with an illness from which they will never recover and usually have a life prognosis of six months or less (Hospice Foundation of America, 2014). The goal of hospice care is improving quality of life and managing the symptoms of disease and the dying process. The care hospice offers is focused on pain management and emotional and spiritual support for both the patient and family (National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, 2012). Hospice care can be provided in many different settings, often the patient’s own home. Hospice care can also be provided in hospitals, nursing homes, long-term care facilities and free-standing hospice centers and is available to patients of all ages (NHPCO, 2012). A patient receiving care in a hospice program has a team of healthcare individuals that can consist of the patients own physician, nurses, home health aides, clergy, social workers, and speech and physical therapists (NHPCO, 2012). Usually, a care plan is developed by the hospice team and care of the patient is provided by family members with the support of the hospice staff (NHPCO, 2012). Nurses make regular visits to the patient and family and are on call 24/7. Once enrolled in a hospice program hospice covers everything that will be needed to care for you, from medications to manage pain to

What was once believed to be a form of neglect has resulted in a change in practice with the idea that doing less is more. Culture is an important factor in how care is rendered and thus, the limitations of palliative and hospice care lie within the desires of the family and patients. A thorough understanding of our surrounding demographics helps to ensure a seamless approach to providing care without bias or imposition of ones beliefs. However, just as with all things, providing care for the sick and comforting the dying should be rendered in moderation as to prevent the effects of burn out. Likewise, the same effects occur in the caregivers who sacrifice their responsibilities in order to care for their love ones. Finally, and with some closing thoughts, the writer wishes to express with gratitude the benefit of having taken this course to better understand oneself and others in the realm of healthcare. The lessons learned throughout have expanded this writer's knowledge and understanding of the human desire to make a connection through communication, emotion, compassion, and spiritually - the platform from which this writer wishes to continue seeking further knowledge and

Each day as a Hospice Nurse I touch lives. I cannot imagine a job more suitable for me. Each work day I make a difference in someone’s life. No one can die for us, but we don’t have to die alone; and, that is why I became a hospice nurse. Every day is different, presents new challenges, and always touches my heart. It’s beautiful when talent, and passion come together to make a difference.