Interested in Hospice, coming in from a different field

[Bspalacio]

Hello all!

I have been in a clinic setting in specialty areas for 12+ years so I do not know much about hospice nursing. My wife is also a nurse and might have an opportunity for Hospice. Besides assessment skills and nursing judgments, is there a lot of hands on needed such as IV's, catheters, dressing changes, etc? She is a bit hesitant since she hasn't had much of those skills in a few years (we had children which has made her to stay at home for a few years). Any advice would be great. Thanks!

[KMRN81]

Hi there! Hospice RN for 5 years.

It depends on the setting and acuity level of the hospice. In the home hospice setting, you will probably be doing lab draws, dressing changes, managing Pleurx and/or Aspira drains, inserting foleys, that kind of thing.

My inpatient hospice is high acuity and we care for patients who are trached/vented, LVADs, access chest ports, start PIVs, various drain systems, chest tubes, wounds, etc. So, lots of skills are required but training is provided on all of them.

If she's hesitant, she can reach out to your local hospice and ask to do share time as she's interested in applying. It's not the right fit for every nurse, but when it is - it really is!

[benharold1, BSN]

I have been an inpatient nurse for 15 years. We are very busy and understaffed most of the time. We also have a lot of procedures (port, pivs, chest tubes wounds, no vents) I have 5-6 patients including an admission. I do a lot of overtime and am really not happy in the field any more and plan to look for a change. I think you maintain most of the skills you would use in the hospital working in inpatient hospice care.

I do think it is a very rewarding field of nursing and I do not want to discourage you. I just need to move on from my current situation. I wish you the best!