Courses for palliative care/hospice nursing in Canada

[frozenyogurt]

Hi everyone!

I am a new grad! I have been working on a medical unit for the elderly for a few months now. I have not yet come across any patient's death but after much reading on palliative/hospice nursing, this is the area that I would like to work in in the future. My questions are:

1) How many years of work experience should I have before I pursue further education in this area?

(I have signed up for some palliative care workshops offered by my workplace in the meantime!)

2) Which schools in Canada offer this specialty (in person or distance ed.)?

3) Some experienced nurses have been telling me to work in ER, ICU, other medical floors while I am young to gain experience. While I agree with experiencing as much as I can while I am "young", I know that I am not someone who would enjoy the stress/demands of working in those areas. I guess experience in these specialties would be an asset but is work experience on a medical unit "enough" to land a job in hospice nursing?

Thank you so much!

[Brightonrn1]

Having a extensive background in the icu, has afforded me increased confidence in the field. When you have a background in staff nursing whether micu or a medical surgical floor, you develop critical thinking skills. That is something that comes from experience. That said, you should always following your heart. Do what you love and its never considered work.

[melsch]

Hi frozenyogurt,

I am not sure what part of the country you are from, but I know that out west there is not much in the way of formal Hospice/Palliative courses. The Victoria Hospice puts on a couple of really great education weeks every year and I highly recommend them if you are working in hospice. Check into your local hospice association and see if they are offering any other courses and take as many as you can. We are also provided with a number of opportunities for education with regular monthly inservices put on by our nurse educator - on various topics and the palliative doctors organize a monthly dinner for updates and education that the open up to the nurses. I am going to be writing my specialty exam this spring and the only requirements are to have enough hours working in hospice, you don't have to take any particular courses - you just have to get experience.

I personally had many years experience in LTC and medical/oncology before I moved to hospice, but we do have a few newish grads (1-2 years) who are working with us in inpatient hospice. I have found my previous experiences to be really helpful in my current position, and would recommend at least a year in medical to hone your assessment skills, but if you are willing to listen and learn from you experienced coworkers you should be okay.

[RNinRubySlippers, BSN, RN]

Hi there,

The CNA offers certification in Hospice Palliative care. There is a requirement of 2 years experience in medical with some care for palliative pts, but it is a great self or group study followed by an exam. There are study guides avail as well...so check out the CNA website! Hope this helps!