Insightful answers please. . . . .

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I'm a fairly new nurse. I work in a stepdown CTS unit. So usually our patients come to us, they have a CABG or a valve replacement, they get better, and they go home.

We also do quite a few thoracotomies for lung CA. I know lung CA has one of the worst prognoses of all cancers. Even when we operate, I know that the survival rate of my patients is slim.

My question is. What are the qualities you think best define a hospice nurse?

As much as I like the surgical aspect of what i do, and the fact that the majority of my patients are going to "make it", my most satisfying interactions have been with my lung CA patient, (who know they aren't going to "make it" most likely, even if the prognosis is fairly recent)

I've been considering a switch from CTS to either hospice or oncology.

Can anyone give me some insights?

I'm not really asking for advice. No one can tell me if it is the right choice or not. But if someone has an experience they think I could draw from, I would treasure the sharing of that knowledge.

I just feel like I am at a crossroads.

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Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.

As a nurse on her way out of hospice, I can draw from my experience of what I have learned about the successful hospice nurses I've worked with.

They learned to adopt care of the dying as a lifestyle. It takes first priority in their lives in that it is not simply a job that can be turned on and off like shift work at a hospital. Often it has meant cancelling personal appointments and putting off personal activities. They admit it is not a family friendly job and accept it on those terms.

They have great sensitivity to the families and patients. They have an awareness of just how much information is too much information and don't follow an algorithm type of approach.

They have the patience of Job. Believe me, I have wanted to smack some of my patient family members into reality.

They know they won't be able to fix anything, including dysfunctional families.

They communicate well with and use the interdisciplinary members of their team, and keep those relationships strong.

They understand that some days it just seems like they have no purpose at all. This is especially true with facility patients. The facilities seem to be doing just fine without us thank you.

The nursing part is not rocket science but there are opportunities to be creative with the meds at their disposal.

They take care of each other.

These are some of my insights. I do not possess many of these qualities and that is why they are so glaringly obvious to me. I have gifts which would be suited elsewhere. Now if I could just figure out where...

Hope this helps.

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Specializes in NICU, Educ, IC, CM, EOC.

RNKittyKat; what a beautiful answer. Your perceptive and descriptive abilities are a true gift. Hope you find a nursing niche that fits those gifts.

kcalohagirl: The best hospice nurse I've ever met fit the above description to a "T". The worst was someone who walked into my Mom's with an agenda and a checklist and would get flustered when Mom veered off the list. The second best hospice nurse was a CCRN who had been doing the job a month when Mom died. This nurse was so loving and gentle with Mom and totally un-rushed in her approach. She was able to find small bits of humor that we could share as fellow nurses, even though it was a difficult moment in my life. My take-away message was that in hospice having all the answers is NOT an admirable quality. That's my take on it, anyway from being on the family side of the fence.

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They learned to adopt care of the dying as a lifestyle. It takes first priority in their lives in that it is not simply a job that can be turned on and off like shift work at a hospital. Often it has meant cancelling personal appointments and putting off personal activities. They admit it is not a family friendly job and accept it on those terms

Agree with everything in the first reply except the description above. If you are working for a well run, efficient Hospice where your management is concerned for your well being, the above does not have to be true. We, as humans, have to have some down time. I find hospice to be a very family friendly job.

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They learned to adopt care of the dying as a lifestyle. It takes first priority in their lives in that it is not simply a job that can be turned on and off like shift work at a hospital. Often it has meant cancelling personal appointments and putting off personal activities. They admit it is not a family friendly job and accept it on those terms

Agree with everything in the first reply except the description above. If you are working for a well run, efficient Hospice where your management is concerned for your well being, the above does not have to be true. We, as humans, have to have some down time. I find hospice to be a very family friendly job.

I agree with this response as well.....my hospice job is much more flexible and family friendly than my 12 hour shift work in the hospital setting.

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