Advice for a new Hospice nurse :)

[This Won't Hurt Much]

i'm a new hospice nurse and

love

the job but am finding that i'm having this one

little

issue...dead people.

how long has it taken you all to get used to that part of the job? it's not really creeping me out

exactly

, but i've found myself thinking things like, "oh, at least he's not cold yet." i've been surprised to see that i just seem to struggle when it comes to actually having to touch them! i know i'm still new at actually being around death itself so often, but it still feels a little strange when they aren't breathing, or suddenly saying, "what are you doing to me?!" as i prepare their bodies for the funeral home (not my favorite thing to do, but better than if a patient actually did say something then, huh?!)

i

love

being able to provide emotional and physical comfort for the patient and support for the families. prior to this job, i was always a little jealous of hospice nurses who then took over the care of my hospital patients because they were able to provide such intimate and such deeply needed specialized care. now i'm that nurse, and i'm just wondering....how long until you adapt to that part of the job? i'm guessing it's kind of like learning to deal with poop? after a while, you just learn to get over it? thanks for your input!

[SoCalRN1970]

I don't know what to say to you. I was always comfortable around dead bodies, even in the hospital. I don't have a clue what or how things will play out for you. I think it's individual, and it may take time.

[leslie :-D]

i'm guessing it's kind of like learning to deal with poop? after a while you just learn to get over it? [/b']

pretty much.

you will get more used to it...don't know if you'll get totally used to it, though.

i have no problems with doing care immediately after death.

it's somewhat less pleasant, if the body has been there sev'l hours/in unfavorable environment.

it does help when you can explore and accept your personal feelings about death.

for me, i know that i'm only dealing with the shell...and the soul/spirit has moved onward.

but the bottom line is, it's one of the more undesirable duties of a hospice nurse...again, if the corpse has been there awhile.

but if it's immediately after death, i do consider it an intimate and meaningful act.

leslie

[This Won't Hurt Much]

Thank you for your responses. I do feel like it is an honor to help prepare a body after death - both for that specific person and for the loved ones they've left behind. There's something special about being able to be one of the final people who is taking care of someone's body. It's kind of like, "No matter what you've been through or what kind of person you were, I'm going to honor you and your life here on Earth." I know that i am going to take good care of them and treat them with respect. That's the honorable part for me. But it just is still a little strange working with just a body and not a...person. I think my heart is all in the right place; I just think - and hope - that time and more experience will take care of the rest. I really do appreciate your feedback and thoughts very much! Thank you!

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

i like what you wrote here: i do feel like it is an honor to help prepare a body after death - both for that specific person and for the loved ones they've left behind. there's something special about being able to be one of the final people who is taking care of someone's body. it's kind of like, "no matter what you've been through or what kind of person you were, i'm going to honor you and your life here on earth." i know that i am going to take good care of them and treat them with respect. yay for having such a caring attitude.

i've been a hospice nurse and have felt the cleaning up was an invasion of the privacy of the deceased patient. that's where my discomfort came into play. sometimes family members want to do this cleaning and/or help with it. it feels comforting to them, to me, and maybe to the deceased patient too, since we really don't know if he or she is still sticking around a bit. know what i mean?

long ago, when i was a student, i worked in a catholic hospital, on a med/surg floor, and helped clean patients after death. several of the nurses said that sometimes while doing such work, they could physically feel the spirit of the patient "whoosh" out of the body. they told me that so i'd be prepared if it happened. they said it was an awesome experience. i never had it, but since, i've heard about it many times. i think this experience could be quite a blessing to a nurse if she or he is open to it and accepted it as a lovely thing....

[This Won't Hurt Much]

I would love to experience that "whoosh" you're talking about! That would be incredible, and it's something no one else has mentioned to me at work or here! Thank you for that! I hope I get the priviledge of experiencing that some day.

[Doubledee]

I am currently an RN in LTC interviewing for a hospice job.

I feel I have been doing end of life care for most of my career. I have come to feel the post mortem care is our way of giving a last respect.

This past summer, I took care of my father in his last ten days of life. At the end, he was surrounded by family, listening to his favorite music. He had a good passing.

Afterward, I cleaned him up and even zipped him in the bodybag when the mortician came for him.

It was my way, as a nurse, to say good bye.