Hospice

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Have any students here decided to go into hospice once they graduate? We had the most incredible experience with the hospice nurses who took care of my mother as the end of her life was drawing near.....and I'm seriously considering hospice. I have decided to volunteer at 2 different hospices here in my area, both at their inpatient "houses"....so I will get a better idea of the actual care the nurses give.

I do realize that there is a hospice forum and I have been there several times reading the posts, but would like to hear from anyone else who might be thinking about this specialty.

TGIF!!

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I am seriously considering hospice nursing. I worked at an assisted living facility for 4 years prior to starting school and I also had personal experience with hospice care during my uncle's terminal illness. I found at the facility I worked at, that I really feel comfortable in that type of work...sounds kind of gruesome, I know. I feel like I will be good at it. I just really felt good taking part in comforting the patient and family members as well. I might change my mind before I graduate, but I have been focused on going into that specialty for a long time now.

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Specializes in Med/Surg <1; Epic Certified <1.

I think I might have an interest at some point in the future. I know hospice does some wonderful things and I would imagine the sense of truly helping a pt and their family deal with end-of-life issues and crises would be so rewarding. Hospice was used for my father-in-law and a very young sister-in-law who had terminal cancers and both experiences were nothing but positive. I've also talked to a nurse or two who currently work in hospice and who love it.

We had some hospice employers recently at a career fair and we were told that some med/surg or other pt care experience is usually required.

Are you seeing that in your exploration of the career?

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I currently work as a CNA in a hospice facility and absolutely LOVE it. Seriously, it has been the most rewarding experience of my life. Yeah, there are moments were it is difficult, but each and every day, I can walk out the door knowing that in some small way, the compassion I extended towards my patients made their final days a little better.

I don't know if I will ever do Hospice nursing, but it has definitely opened my eyes to the possibility. However, it's making me strongly consider oncology...

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We had some hospice employers recently at a career fair and we were told that some med/surg or other pt care experience is usually required.

Are you seeing that in your exploration of the career?

I have actually been told that med/surg is a good choice to get started, but that it was not a requirement for every hospice/agency.

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