Experience required for Hospice RN

Specialties Hospice

Published

HI,

I am a new RN currently working on a telemetry unit. My love is and always will be Hospice. What is the requirement for employment as a Hospice nurse? I understand that Med/Surg or Oncology would probably be ideal, but was hired in Telemetry as that is where I have been employed pre-RN for the last 5 years. Aby hope of getting into Hospice right out of telemetry, and if so, how many years of experience will they want first?

Thanks so much for the advice, and I love reading your forum.

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I went to hospice directly from tele! Well, unless you want to count the 8 weeks of misery in outpatient oncology before I ran screaming to hospice (oh I loved onc--the patients, the work itself--it was the nastiness of the other staff I just couldn't stomach)...

Actually, my experience sounds a lot like yours....spent five years as a unit secretary on tele, then was a new grad on tele--had just under two years as an RN when I went to hospice. If you've got any experience on your unit with palliative/comfort care only patients, that will be helpful.

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I went to hospice as a GN and had no nursing experience at all. Infact sometimes its better if you havent had a lot of curitive experience. Hospice is much different from any other kind of nursing. I have been in hospice now nearly 14 years and still find it interesting and challenging. The only way to get experience for hospice is to do hospice. They dont expect you to know everything about hospice, they will train you anyway, there is a lot to unlearn and relearn.

HI,

I am a new RN currently working on a telemetry unit. My love is and always will be Hospice. What is the requirement for employment as a Hospice nurse? I understand that Med/Surg or Oncology would probably be ideal, but was hired in Telemetry as that is where I have been employed pre-RN for the last 5 years. Aby hope of getting into Hospice right out of telemetry, and if so, how many years of experience will they want first?

Thanks so much for the advice, and I love reading your forum.

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Are there any pediatric hospice nurses here? I've been working in peds for 8 years, 6 as an RN. I have cared for dying pts with Cystic Fibrosis and am very interested in hospice nursing. I'm curious about what a "typical" workday is like for a hospice nurse.

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Wow, andre, yes our situations are similar. I was also a unit secretary for 5 years on telemetry before my RN as well. That experiemce helped me immensely for nursing. Thanks for the reply.

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