My Saving Grace...why hospice will always be my niche.

[Flynurse]

i just wanted to take a moment to say, "hey! hi! hello! i'm part of the team!"

it has been 6 months since i began working in hospice.

it has been 10 months since i spoke the words,

"i will never work as a nurse again."

yes, nearly a year ago i had worked in enough nursing positions and had been in enough unnerving situations to make me feel burned out from nursing after only 3 years as an lpn. i never wanted to go back to the profession.

i left new york with a bad taste in my mouth i called, "nursing" and moved back home to nebraska to "start over" again.

after trying out a couple other jobs and not succeeding in financially getting back on my feet i was forced to return to the nursing career.

i returned to the last place i was employed in nebraska 4 years before i had moved east. ...a unique retirement community ranging from independent living to long term care. i was hired on the spot! yay me!:yelclap:

the catch? there was only one position open... night shift at a freestanding facility, miles away from the community itself... a hospice house that had opened only 2 years ago. i thought, "oh great. night shift? hospice? this spells disaster for me."

never had i ever been so wrong about anything in my entire life. never!

i am not certified as a hospice nurse. what do i do? i am a nurse who works closely with my coworkers and hospice providers and their hospice nurses to fulfill our mission statement.

i have truly found my niche. to be able to give the bedside care i hold most precious. to be able to provide comfort to those who need it in an unrushed environment. to be able to be ... a nurse. there certainly are not enough words to describe my relief and gratitude for the wonderful opportunity a higher power and my employers (whom i have a strong regard for going strong 5 years) had given me to be a nurse again. those words were spoken frankly and with tears during a conference held at our facility provided by one of the many hospice providers we work with and attended by many of my coworkers, my mentor/coworker and my employers.

i could go on and on about this wonderful place. i could go on and on about my employers/supervisors. however, there just aren't enough words; only the warm feeling i get in my heart everytime i put on my nametag.

this...is my saving grace!

[Blackcat99]

Yes. Hospice is great. :balloons: :)

[pricklypear]

It's so wonderful to run across someone who is genuinely satisfied and truly happy in their job!! Congratulation on finding your little place in the world!:Melody:

[RN 2005]

Sounds like you have found your place in nursing! You sound like a caring nurse who has finally found her true calling......Hopefully you will be there for many patients and families for years to come. Keep on caring....... :1luvu: