med/surg with hospice rooms in rural Ia

[RNAnna]

Hi.

I've been having a hard time lately. Not only because I am working way more hours than I am scheduled for and we are really busy at the moment, but also because at our rural hospital (25 beds) we also have some hospice pts that come in. A couple of weeks ago, durring the busiest time of night, one of my hospice pts died. He went peacefully and wasn't in any pain. It was really a blessing in a way. It took a lot out of me mentally and emotionally. I haven't recieved any training on berevement for nurses who work with these pts. I don't even know if any is available.

I would like to know what other facilities do. If you have a pt that passes on, does your facility support you in any way? And if so, how? I could have used a "debriefing" of sorts after this incident but I haven't had time to talk about it to anyone because I'm either working or sleeping. I would love to hear from some others who may have some words of wisdom for me.

Thanks

Anna

[JoBug]

Hi Anna,

I too work in rural Iowa. I would like to suggest you talk to your nurse manager, and I am sure she could set up a meeting with The Hospice Team in your area to do an inservice, all of the ins and outs of Hopice and the guidlines. I work in LTC and we have a couple Hospice inservices a year. I am a FIRM beleiver in Hospice, and I feel they have a great deal to offer the families of a dying loved one, both with medication help for the suffering and family coping and bereavment of their dying loved one. I hope this helps you, I bet your not alone. Ask for an inservice, the worste they could do is say no, and then if they refuse to , you could also contact the Local Hospice, and I am sure they would be happy to meet with you one on one.

JoBug