another way in the door?

lesrn2005 · Jan 27, 2006

I start my 1st hospice job in February. My only experience is 6 mos. med-surg in a large hospital. I went on an interview w/hospice and I guess they must like me, cuz they offered me a position. Yes, I realize I'm pretty lucky to be given this opportunity. I think it's all about how you present yourself. Give it a shot.

andyg · Jan 27, 2006

Felixfelix, I'm not sure of where you live but most of the hospices in this part of the country do not require 4 yrs. (South East). I do agree that it does how you present yourself when interviewed as do all jobs. We have hired new grads but the main reason they require some experience is because of assessment, as well as, being able to handle psychosocial issues that you will be faced with. Also, Hospice has a reputation as a high burn-out field and unless you are mature with life experiences you are vulnerable to this. Hope this helps. Andyg

aimeee, BSN, RN · Jan 28, 2006

While BSN is preferred, there are few nurses with a BSN in our area, and many of those are in management positions. We have 2 community colleges in our area with excellent nursing programs so a good share of the nurses here have only associate degrees. We will accept candidates who show strong potential if they have experience in skilled care at a long term acute care hospital unit or nursing home. We have tried to hire nurses with less experience who had a wonderful spirit but in the end it does both them and us a disservice. Our experience is that they rarely make it through the entire orientation process. They are overwhelmed with the responsibility in the face of their meagre experience.

That being said, volunteering is still a great thing to do. The more exposure you have, the more certain you will be that this is really what you want to aim for.

felixfelix · Jan 28, 2006

Thanks for giving me something to chew on :thankya:

rosemadder · Feb 14, 2006

Our hospice does not require BSN's. When I first got out of nursing school I had high hopes of starting at Hospice and although I was a Hospice Volunteer, I still was unable to start without two years of Medical Surgical experience. That experience is proving invaluable now. Although I work on a Patient Care Unit where I have back-up for the most part readily available, I have found that the experience I gained through Med-Surg has given me the confidence I need to run the unit efficiently without requiring I ask for anything but ocassional assistance from the home care nurses. This experience helped me feel more ready to face the unique challenges of Hospice and not worry about clinical skills. I'm sure there are some Hospice's that will hire you as a new grad and I would definitely have taken the position if I had been offered one. However, looking back now I am glad it worked out the way it did and the two years went very fast!