New FNP- Hospice...Thoughts? Advice?

[FNP_Yari]

Hi Everyone!

I am a fairly new FNP with 13 years Nursing experience in LTC/MS/PCU and lastly, ICU before and during the pandemic so needless to say, I have been exposed to A LOT of death/dying/compassionate weaning throughout my nursing career. I am set to start a new position with smaller Hospice company next week, and this will be my very first NP job ?

Naturally, I'm anxious about going from an "expert RN" to a novice NP so I want to make sure I hit the ground running when orientation is over and it's time to see patients. 

What are some good resources I should have on-hand? Anything you suggest that will help me better understand and better care for my patients? Obviously not asking HOW to be a Hospice NP, but rather, just trying to get a feel for what resources I should get a hold of in order to effectively prepare?...Thanks in advance!

-Yari, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC ❤️

[matthewandrew, NP]

I am an FNP and my first NP job was palliative care. If your organization is part of CAPC, definitely do their modules, that helped me. The resource I carried with me all the time was Tarascon Palliative Medicine Pocketbook. Quick small reference. Apps I used: Epocrates, Opiods professor EBM.

 

good luck on your new endeavors!

[tejon, DNP, NP]

Reading with great interest here as well. I have been working as an FNP for almost 2 years (Urgent Care), moving to Palliative Care in 2 months. I have experience with hospice, comfort care patients, and Oncology but am trying to get a good toolkit so I can learn as much as I can prior to starting.

[vampiregirl, BSN, RN]

The AAHPM Primer of Palliative Care is a favorite reference of both the nurses and our Medical Director at the hospice I work for as a hospice RN. I can honestly saw I use this reference almost daily, it's got a great equianalgesic conversion table. Actually, our administration got extra of the equianalgesic tables (they are also sold separately) so each nurse can have one available in their bags.

The HPNA has lots of great resources available. 

You might also see what associations your hospice has membership in. The hospice I work for is a member of the NHPCO and that makes the staff eligible for resources/ continuing education through them.

You will probably also want to get a copy of the eligibility criteria/ LCDs for your area (there are several different ones for different parts of the country). This can be helpful not only for eligibility determination but also as a prompt for charting to ensure you are capturing pertinent info in your documentation. 

Good luck! Hospice/palliative care is a wonderful area of nursing!

[GEB16]

For anyone who may can answer my questions: anyone doing home hospice? I currently work in family practice but need more flexibility with my hours... Thinking home hospice may be a good option. Let me know if you like hospice!