Hospice - didn't get many replies on the hospice forum

leslie :-D · Aug 1, 2008

if you're contemplating home health hospice, then yes, you would need the yr of med/surg or oncology experience.

working alone requires an autonomous level of independence that new grads just aren't equipped to handle.

but if it's an inpatient facility, you'd have a better chance of being hired, since there's ongoing support.

best of luck to you.

leslie

Tash4nvyblues, RN · Aug 1, 2008

if you're contemplating home health hospice, then yes, you would need the yr of med/surg or oncology experience.
working alone requires an autonomous level of independence that new grads just aren't equipped to handle.
but if it's an inpatient facility, you'd have a better chance of being hired, since there's ongoing support.

I totally agree, I would even say 2 years because the level of emotional support needed for both the patient and the family is huge. And you need to have a really good understanding about analgesia, which would be ideal in a med/surg ward.

Babs0512 · Aug 1, 2008

I agree with everyone else - here it would require 2 years of med surge - and you would also have to first work for our local health department, hospice hires from the health department pool. So basically, I can't apply to work in hospice unless I get a county position. I don't think it's like that all over, but it is here.

1 year just wouldn't be enough time for you to "learn your craft", school gives you the basics, you actually learn your craft on the job. Hone your assessment skills and confidence. Look at your patients labs and assessment data and see if you can come up with a diagnosis (medical) - you can't actually diagnosis them, I mean in your head. Learn to put two and two together. Learn to anticipate how your patients will do, based upon all the information you gather from seeing them, talking with them, assessing them, checking labs, reading x-ray reports etc... make a game out of it. This is how you learn to "put the book smarts together with the real world". Listen to other nurses talking with doctors - you can gain a wealth of knowledge from that. Play detective.

Since Hospice requires a lot of autonomy and anticipating patient needs, all of the above will help you to achieve you goal.

This is how I learned, and I became a darn good nurse (a bit jaded as of lately, but I know what I'm doing).

Good luck, God Bless:twocents:

Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN · Aug 2, 2008

Hospices have a volunteer training program, it would introduce you to the world of hospice nursing. I was a Certified Hospice Nurse and I can't tell you how many nurses thought hospice was their calling most did not last a week in the job. They couldn't take the pressure and the patients even though the thought hospice nursing was for them, I felt bad since they quit their regular job.