Hospice Library...what would you pick?

Hands down for practice. . . Notes on Symptom Control in Hospice and Palliative Care, by Peter Kaye. My copy was published in 1990, don't know if there is a later edition, but this book is a gold mine.

For the test, though, get the Study Guide and the Core Curriculum from the HPNA. They are not cheap, but they are great study aids.

Good luck to you!

I was an inpt hospice nurse and have established a mini hopice library of my own. Here are some books I own and recommend:

(I will post links, as it is easier!)

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0553378767/qid=1130308356/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-5885285-0803164?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0684822695/qid=1130308427/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-5885285-0803164?v=glance&s=books

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/089603237X/qid=1130308470/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-5885285-0803164?v=glance&s=books

The classic....

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0684839385/qid=1130308506/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-5885285-0803164?v=glance&s=books

And here is a link to a booklet for pts and families; it's called Gone From My Sight.This booklet was invaluable to me as a hospice nurse. I kept a supply on hand to give to pts and families.

Many pts and families even ask to have a poem from this book read at the funeral. I cannot recommend this booklet enough!

http://www.bkbooks.com/booklets.html#GONE

I fully second the Gone From My Sight!

I had the opprotunity to listen to Barbara Karnes speak at our area Hospice Confrence here in southern Illinois last year and absolutely loved her!

All of her pamplets and her book are just awesome.. she's just one of those people whose heart is truely in hospice patient and family care. She sat with the girls from my hospice for a bit and we just really enjoyed talking with her. She gives an awesome explanation of the body and spirit "letting go" as we run out of "fuel" during the dying process that I've been able to use to help some families understand why a person isn't eating or why they sometimes die quickly after the pain is under control. Things that we as nurses know.. just a very down to earth way to explain to families.

One of the best symptom management books that I've seen is the "Symptom Management Algorithyms, A Handbook for Palliative Care" by Linda Wrede-Seaman, MD. It's easy to carry around with me and I have a copy at home, as well.

Ira Byock's book "Dying Well" is a good read.

What about the Textbook of Palliative Nursing? I think it is newer, and a new edition was just introduced this month. The dr. book, Oxfords Textbook of Palliative Care, looked expensive, was about the size of a Honda, and looked dull enough to actually euthanize the nurse reading it.