New hospice nurse

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Hello, All! I've just been hired as a hospice nurse and I'm so excited! The reason I went to nursing school was to eventually work in hospice so it's a dream come true for me.

If any of you would share your nuggets of wisdom with me, I would greatly appreciate it! I've just finished reading "The Needs of The Dying" and "Final Gifts" and have ordered a copy of the "Textbook of Hospice and Palliative Care". Do you have any other recommended reads? Any advice on anything hospice related would be fantastic!

Thank you all so much!

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Good luck to you. I am a New Grad as well & start working in Hospice on Monday. I'm so excited!

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Specializes in home health, hospice, clinic, telemetry.

The best advice I can offer as a hospice nurse. Understand your patients disease process and think ahead of what will become a problem so you may plan your care. Figure out a way to start very organized and keep that system. For me* being organized can either make it all work or it all falls apart in the middle of my day. Meet your patients and families where they are and understand that each person isn't going to be on the "same page of music" as others. That was something that I had a hard time with and that is why I mention it to you. I use to think "my gosh, why can't they see ...blah blah blah". Well, it took some time but really, patients and families are just doing the best they can and you will make the difference in increasing their understanding and acceptance a lot of times. Oh and last think, teach something EVERY time you are with your patient. I make it a rule for myself that each visit I must teach something. Kind of keeps me focused.

Congrats and hope you post more once you are in the field.

Not sure if you are in a facility or out in the field but either way I wish you the very best. You are going to blessed by your patients!!!!

AK

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Specializes in LTC, Psych, Hospice.

Ditto to everything AK said. I work in the field and one thing I do with all my patients, especially the home-bound ones, is share something with them that's going on in the outside world. It could be something as simple as talking about the weather. One of my patients hasn't been OOB for several years and she knows more about me than I do! LOL. She's always asking how my garden is, what I did over the w/e, etc. A couple of my patients don't have family close by, and really hunger for any "news" outside their four walls.

I just have to be careful about my time, though. Sometimes I get to listening to their stories and adventures of youth and forget I have other patients to tend to. Good luck to you! I hope you love hospice as much as I do.

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