New to Board and Forum

Hi,

I am a hospice & palliative care nurse, worked for 4+ years in an inpt setting (VA, mostly SNF but had a hospice & palliative care ward), just finished a 9 month Palliative Care Fellowship (Tuesday of this week!) also VA but hospital based -- had 2 MD fellows, a psychology fellow, SW fellow, 2 chaplain fellows and me. The position was geared towards an NP but it was a good fit, I learned lots, and got my CHPN certification during it.

Before that I was a many year volunteer at a facility for people with end-stage AIDS (this was pre-retrovirus cocktail), and worked in an adult foster care home for people with HIV/AIDS

I am currently a PhD student, finished with course work and working on my first 3 chapters so that I can defend my proposal and start recruiting/data gathering. My dissertation will be on the experience of family members of assisted living residents enrolled in hospice. It's going to be very strange to not be in a clinical setting for the next while.

Looking forward to following posts, adding my 2 cents occasionally and hopefully using this board as a break rather than an too effective procrastination device.