[photorn]

I interviewed with a Hospice agency yesterday and just thought I would see what you all think. I am new, OB nurse for 20 years. They said I could train until I was comfortable before being on my own. Generally how long do you think this is on the average? They also want me to do a ride along for 8 hours to see what it is like before I commit. I thought that was a great idea so I am going on Tuesday. What are some of the most important things I should ask this nurse?

It is full time and I told her I wanted part-time. She seemed flexible with this and said I could work m-f for 6 hours/day. I would need to be on call one weekend every 2 months. When I said that I would have child care issues on the Monday morning she said they can probably work around that. She was really nice and it seems they will go out of there way to make it work out for everyone.

It sounds great even though it would be a $14/hr cut for me. But I would no longer be driving 1 1/2 hours to work. It would also not be nights or 12 hour shifts anymore so I could still schedule photo shoots in the late afternoon (I just opened a photography business) so I am thinking this would be a good fit but not having any experience in this area thought I would see what you all think Thanks

[doodlemom]

It sounds like a supportive work environment. Since you already know how much on call is required, I would ask the nurse how many patients she has and what has been the most. 12 is a good number but less is even better. Other questions... How supportive is the medical director? If you have a hard time getting narcotic Rx's from the PCP, will the medical director step in and write them? Do they do their own admissions or do they have admissions nurses? How many hours a day is she/he working? Is working 6 hours a day doable? How many patients will you be required to have if you're working part time? Who covers your patients for the other 2 hours of the day? I can probably think of more later, but right now my brain is a little tired. Anyone else?

[brainnurse]

Those are great questions to ask.

Photorn, it sounds really good. What made you decide to pursue hospice? It seems like many OB nurses gravitate to it.....must be something about the life/death continuum. It would be an interesting research project. I am heading in this direction myself, and am in the interview process. I'm learning a lot of the questions to ask from reading the archives on this site.

The call really doesn't sound bad at all. One agency told me they rotate call for a week at a time. That's right.....7 days on call. Yipes! The $ cut is hard to take, but so are the headaches of hospital systems (yech) and the long commute. Going on a ride along is a really good idea, I might ask about that too.

Best of luck with the new business!
Ro

[photorn]

Thanks for the info. The reason I want to switch is: I lost my baby girl almost 6 years ago from a brain tumor and we had Hospice involved in her care. My dad died from Multiplemyeloma 12 years ago and we also had Hospice. It was great. It seems that since I lost my daughter my spiritual life changed. I feel that once we have recovered sufficiently enough from a trial that generally this may be an area God calls us to later to comfort others in similar situations. My interest since has shifted from birth to grief. I have even been thinking of teaching grief classes but need someone to take over my DivorceCare class that I teach presently so I can switch. Plus I have been in OB for 20 years and I am getting burned out from the hospital setting, tired of the commute and working 12 hour nights.

[brainnurse]

I'm sorry that happened to you. It's pretty healthy of you to think of a way to turn those experiences and feelings into a vehicle to help someone else. Do you think it will be hard for you to take a peds case? Or perhaps it would be exciting, because you would know precisely how to relate to the parents. My dad received hospice care too, and had a very peaceful passing. It was peaceful for all of us, and we were very appreciative.
Ro

[RNDYN2CU]

Come To My Company!!!!

[EmptytheBoat]

I'm so sorry for your losses, you present yourself stoically, God bless you!
You will make a wonderful Hospice nurse, it may well be your purpose.
I lost my Mom last year to cancer and it added a true empathy to my
demeanor, allowing me to be a better hospice nurse.
doodlemom, once again, offered you a great reply. She is very wise, we're
lucky to have her on this forum.
I would request at least two weeks of ride-alongs to get acclimated to
the visits, and would start doing the paperwork right away so that you
may get down a routine. It does appear that the agency will be supportive
of your time constraints, but you may wish to speak to the other employees
and get their experiences; sometimes, employers are desparate for help and
will make commitments they are not prepared to keep.
Hospice is an area that you should be very flexible with your time, I don't
know if it will be doable, or doable well, with time constraints.
Best of luck to you. Take care!

[aimeee]

So sorry to hear of the losses that have brought you to this turning point, but glad to hear you feel you have healed enough to help others through their losses.

You need to know just how they plan to handle you being part-time. I am guessing that they figure they will just give you a smaller case load so that theoretically you can see all your patients in 6 hours instead of 8. I would caution you against thinking you will be able to schedule things in that last two hours of the day. Its great in theory but will be difficult to actually pull off in real life. Murphy's law will dictate that the day you have an important shoot scheduled will be the one that your last visit, which you thought would be a quick 30 minute in and out, turns into a 2 hour marathon.

[Dianne6]

You are doing it for good reasons... good luck

[weetziebat]

Where I work our part time nurses are not case managers and pick up patients on a daily basis where the case manager is overloaded.
Think you've gotten lots of good advice about what to ask. As far as orientation, I started five weeks ago and am still considered an orientee as there are important things I've yet had much of an opportunity to get experience in, like admissions.

I'm very sorry about the loss of your daughter. To be able to use that experience to help others in similar circumstances is truly to be commended.
You are a brave, compassionate person.

You might want to ask how large an area you will be expected to cover, and what the policy is on night visits. How much do you get for milage, and is any part of your cell phone bill covered. Personally, I like to go on Mapquest and get directions each morning before heading out, as I find the directions given are all leaving from the work base, and throws me off when I'm not coming from that direction.

I'm still trying to get myself into a good working schedule where hopefully things can kind of go smoothly (O.K. well, more or less) instead of being as chaotic as it is most of the time. As it is I rarely get a lunch break and wind up getting a milkshake from a drive through fast food place and drink it as I drive. And my slacks are starting to cut off the circulation at my waist, so that has got to go.

Good luck and please let us know how things go, O.K?