Ideas for Teaching Topics

TammyG · Feb 16, 2015

Personally, I would not do something on stress and grieving. Almost all hospice companies hold bereavement sessions routinely for their nurses and they probably have been educated on their process quite a bit. I would do it on something clinical. One interesting thing that has had some research lately is whether atropine or scope patches or any other medication for that matter actually works at drying excess secretions. This is something that we always have to deal with because it is distressing to families.

toomuchbaloney · Feb 18, 2015

consider researching funeral and burial options in your state. some people are not aware that one does not always have to be buried in a "cemetary", can use homemade coffins, and a variety of nuanced things that may vary from region to region.

TammyG · Feb 18, 2015

Funeral options is an interesting topic, however, it is one that is handled in real life by hospice social workers and is not really a nursing topic. If it interests you, you might want to make sure that your instructor approves.

toomuchbaloney · Feb 19, 2015

Funeral options is an interesting topic, however, it is one that is handled in real life by hospice social workers and is not really a nursing topic. If it interests you, you might want to make sure that your instructor approves.

I am not a student, I don't need an instructor's approval.

Nurses speak with hospice patients and families about funeral arrangements all the time. The interdisciplinary team enjoys a pretty amazing amount of overlap. The presentation on funeral options that I attended was heavily seasoned with nursing representation.

TammyG · Feb 19, 2015

My comment was intending to speak to the original poster. I would not want her to be penalized for developing a teaching plan on a non-nursing topic. I know that you are a great contributor to these boards, too much baloney, and I did not mean to imply that that is not a proper topic for a hospice nurse to discuss with the patient. Rather, as a nursing instructor myself, I always prefer that my students develop teaching plans related to physiologic response to disease, and that can be applied to patients in nonhospice contexts. Personally, I have enough on my plate as a hospice nurse. Burials in my area often involve military funeral homes which have complicated application processes and eligibility criteria. My own preferences that the social workers handle this discussion for which they have much more knowledge.

toomuchbaloney · Feb 19, 2015

My comment was intending to speak to the original poster. I would not want her to be penalized for developing a teaching plan on a non-nursing topic. I know that you are a great contributor to these boards, too much baloney, and I did not mean to imply that that is not a proper topic for a hospice nurse to discuss with the patient. Rather, as a nursing instructor myself, I always prefer that my students develop teaching plans related to physiologic response to disease, and that can be applied to patients in nonhospice contexts. Personally, I have enough on my plate as a hospice nurse. Burials in my area often involve military funeral homes which have complicated application processes and eligibility criteria. My own preferences that the social workers handle this discussion for which they have much more knowledge.

funerals here often include home made coffins and graves dug on the family homestead. There is nothing for us to do relative to the military funerals...they largely run their own show and require little input from hospice staff.

Perhaps you live in an area where there is greater access to MSWs.

vampiregirl, BSN, RN · Feb 20, 2015

Advance directives might be an area to consider or non-pharmalogical interventions/ trouble shooting symptoms (restlessness is a good one).

Or for a spin on nurses & their own grief - compassion fatigue is a good one or caring for a patient that the nurse knows (crossing the sacred boundary between one's personal and professional life). I work for a fairly small Hospice and sometimes the nurses do know or know of their patients.

aconwaylpn · Mar 1, 2015

Thank you everyone for the great ideas! The topic does need to be approved by my instructor. I also plan to work with my preceptor to come up with a topic more tailored to the hospice company I am working with. I wanted some ideas to present to her.