Leaving Hospice. Possibly for HH. Please comment.

[wonderbee, BSN, RN]

After 7 months of hospice, I am disappointed that it turns out I'm not a hospice nurse after all. I've lost my compassion, seeing the same patients over and over again for months, waiting for the worst and then dreading the death bed vigil when it happens. Somehow I've managed to miss ALL of the actual deaths of my patients. On call usually there or they died and then we were notified.

Also it's been brought to my attention that my teaching is often overwhelming to the families of the dying. In short, the teaching is not really welcome, thank you. Families in denial and such. I love to teach and have tried to tailor my teaching to the student's needs but apparently have fallen short of that goal. I wanted to prepare families for the deaths but they weren't ready.

When I came to hospice, I was told "it's a lifestyle", not really allowing the true meaning of that phrase to get down into my spirit. It means that in order to be sensitive to the families of the dying, it's a 24/7 mentality and availability. I'm not a 24/7 kind of gal. For me, work is a means to an end and not an end to itself. I can't wait to turn my phone off and do not check my messages until Sunday night.

This same company wants me to try home health. I'm told that it would be a good fit for me. I don't want to encounter the same problems I've encountered in hospice and want to know what differences I could expect. In hospice, I could see up to 8 patients per day, made my own schedule and the schedule of my aid. Handled recerts and all aspects of case management. Once a week we attend IDT meetings meeting with all of the disciplines and the medical director. We have call 3 nights a month or one weekend. Paperwork has been done at home but I'm trying to do it during my visits to have it credited as productivity and not bring it home.

Can I be happy in HH?

[cookie102]

having done both HH and hospice,,,HH is for me,,,i don't mind all the paper work,,,i just realized that i needed to be able to see improvements,,hospice nurses will tell you they love hospice...so do what ever works for you!!! i have to say the 8 hospice pts a day is not hte norm i have seen,,,that is even alot for HH, so take it all in, perhaps it is the agency