Recommended Reading for Hospice Nurses

[introspectiveRN]

I am completely new to hospice nursing. Would some of you extend yourselves to forming a recommended reading list? I would be very appreciative .

-Deanna

Oh, and can we make it a sticky?

[aimeee, BSN, RN]

I especially like the Fast Facts at this website. You will find one about almost every aspect of symptom management as well as about a number of ethical issues:

http://www.eperc.mcw.edu/

[BeExcellent]

To reconnect back to pt involved death journey. (Not just meds, meds meds) Read early Ram Dass.

[AtlantaRN, RN]

There is a red book at the office called Symptom control in Hospice & Palliative care. IT's $35 online at http://www.hospiceworld.org under the bookshop. Worth the money...most books i've found on amazon have more to do with reimbursement and the like, which is important if we want to get paid; but I want to know what the standard of practice is in the hospice setting.

[kokobean]

I have been a hospice nurse for 15 years and agree with many of the psot on crossing the creek and final gifts as good information to read. Another good pamplhelt is Gone from my sight by Barbara Karnes. You can also get alot of imformation from the NHCPO web site. www.nhcpo.org.

Hope this helps

[Furslave]

I have been a hospice nurse for 15 years and agree with many of the psot on crossing the creek and final gifts as good information to read. Another good pamplhelt is Gone from my sight by Barbara Karnes. You can also get alot of imformation from the NHCPO web site. www.nhcpo.org.

Hope this helps

Thanks Kokobean! It's actually www.nhpco.org. :wink2: (ya had the "p" and "c" switched). Good site.

~Robin-a newbie in hospice and a newbie poster here

[Miss Calculation]

I'm in the middle of Last Rights: Rescuing the End of Life from the Medical System by Stephen P. Kiernan. An excellent and eye opening book.

[seasonedlpn]

All suggestions are great....but we forgot the original "Bible" of Hospice.....On Death and Dying by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

[rmw44]

I did not see any mention of Ira Byock's books in this post but may have missed it. His "Dying Well" book was as impactful to me as "Final Gifts". There is an audio discussion and download of the "Dying Well" book that is a great resource for learning on the road. I burn the sessions to CD and listen between visits. Dr. Byock is strong in the political advancement of hospice services but his DW book gave a perspective from a son, a doctor, and a friend. He has written quite a few resources articles that I use consistently in marketing hospice services.

[Sabby_NC]

There truly are many great resources out there to read.

All that has been recommended is awesome.

It is great to lay your hands on anything regarding Hospice and EOLC.

A big wave to all Hospice Nurses today. LOL Whether you are the Hospic or Hostage nurse hahahahhaa :)

[req_read]

I highly recommend watching the DVD, “Down The Rabbit Hole.” It is kind of a re-edited version of “What The Bleep?” It is actually on 3 DVD’s and I just recently discovered that each DVD is recorded on both sides. The back sides contain interviews with the various people in the movie… most of whom are leading thinkers in their various fields. “Down The Rabbit Hole” is not about death & dying per se, it is about ‘life’ and how we define, perceive and think about it… which would be a good thing for hospice nurses to be aware of and think about. If hospice nurses actually did think about such things they would not use the ignorant and disgusting term “end of life care” (EOLC for short.)

Michael

[aimeee, BSN, RN]

Michael, I understand that you feel very strongly about this subject, but using the terms ignorant and disgusting is pretty harsh. As a society, we are struggling with this subject and to turn around over half a century of refusal to even discuss the subject of death, let alone explore it. Our nomenclature lags behind and it will likely be some time before we can arrive at a term that is really inclusive and descriptive of the full experience.

[req_read]

aimeee…

Yes, you are absolutely correct. Describing the use of the term “end of life care” as “ignorant and disgusting” is harsh.

Then again, my words are not nearly as harsh as death is on those who coast along through life thinking such thoughts (like, death is the “end of life”) and then suddenly wake up dying one day… victims of their own thinking patterns. I may be harsh, but all things are relative… and relative to death, I am a regular sweetheart.

My feeling is, as “experts” in dealing with death and dying, hospice nurses ought to pass on the fruits of their labors and observations so as to benefit the public at large… to encourage the public to start thinking in ways that will make their inevitable dying easier.

We all know (as you have noted) that we (Americans) do not deal well with death (“over half a century of refusal to even discuss the subject…” in your own words.) Short-term, we can use pharmaceuticals to sort of patch things together. Long-term however, we ought to be looking at causes and outcomes, then treating the problem rather than merely palliating the problem.

The “problem,” in this case, has a lot to do with thinking patterns. Thinking patterns are HUGE in terms of understanding human behavior (my 2nd book, Key Elements Of Transitions, is mostly about thinking patterns.) In Fred Alan Wolf’s book, A User’s Guide To Your Universe, he talks about the same thing; i.e. how difficult it is to change thinking patterns. Social thinking patterns are unbelievably powerful in terms of their inertia. But they can be changed. It is possible. And the very first thing that must occur in order to effect a change, any change, is first… to become aware… aware that one of your thinking patterns is actually causing you pain.

When working in ICU one night suddenly there came a cry from Room # 2… “Hey!!! Hey!!! Hey!!!” Another nurse & I rushed in to see what the problem was. There was this old fellow, intermittently yanking on his foley. Every time he would yank, he would then yell, “Hey!!!” He did not realize he was doing it to himself.

We (humans) are like that. We fall into habits, or thinking patterns, that ultimately cause us pain. Yet, even when someone figures out that this particular habit, or thinking pattern, is hurtful and suggests we try something different, he is likely to be ignored. And if he raises his voice he is likely to be labeled a rabble-rouser… a trouble-maker. But I gotta tell ya… when you are eyeball to eyeball with death, I will seem like peaches & cream in comparison.

Ironically, one of the things that supports and nurtures our colossal thinking patterns are little things… the little phrases and figures of speech we use on a daily basis. The old axiom, “Sticks & stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me,” is, in a certain context, entirely wrong. The words we habitually use are actually like little affirmations… little prayers even. When we say, on a regular basis, “end of life care,” we are affirming the hurtful thinking pattern that death does indeed “end life.” After having affirmed and reaffirmed this thinking pattern a few million times it is hard to change. To change it one must CHOOSE to change it, every day, over a long period of time… until a new pattern is habituated. But when we are dying we no longer have a “long period of time” to change deeply entrenched thinking patterns. At that point we are simply stuck with what we have already habituated.

“Life after death” is not something one can simply choose, one day, to believe in. It has to be practiced (created) day after day after day. And one of the keys to accomplishing this is to choose, every day… to consciously elect… a different affirmation. You cannot tell yourself “death ends life” nearly every single day of your life and then suddenly, magically, think something entirely different in the last couple of days.

And if we cannot even convince hospice nurses to stop using a hurtful affirmation, what are the chances of convincing the public?

Actually, the general public has not yet been trained to use this hurtful affirmation… or little prayer. So far it is mostly just hospice personnel who use it. So why not throw it out now… like a hot potato? After all, monolithic thinking patterns are a whole lot easier to prevent than they are to change.

Michael