New to Hospice

[Worthless_Nut]

Hi all, I am a certified oncology nurse with 6 years experience and I am going to be joining the home hospice team. While I have cared for many inpatient hospice patients, I have never done home nursing care. Are there any books or reference guides I can buy to help me kick start my new career? I have already purchased The Hospice Companion, as well as, the Core Curriculum and study guide for the Generalist Hospice and Palliative Nurse. I hope to take the CHPN test within the next year. I am really excited about my new job and I have an exceptional love for the end of life patients. I look forward to being the best hospice nurse I can possibly be. Any words of advice to help me start on the right foot?

[PghRN15]

I have a small book called Symptom Management Algorithms: A Handbook for Palliative Care. It is a nice reference material, it is very small. I carry it in my bag. ISBN: 978-1-888411-20-1. You can get it on Amazon for about $35.

Good luck and welcome.

[Worthless_Nut]

Thank you so much for the advice, I am headed to Amazon to check out the book now. I want more than anything to be the best hospice nurse I can be. I appreciate any and all advice / pointers.

[vampiregirl, BSN, RN]

Welcome to Hospice Nursing! I hope you have a wonderful Hospice team to work with...

The Hospice I work for provides all of our nurses a book called the Primer of Palliative Care (I have the 5th edition) - it's a small book that fits in my hospice bag and is a goldmine of information. I've read it cover to cover, and I think that the section I reference the most is the equianalgesic conversation table.

I'm a member of HPNA - lots of great resources available from them and a great peer-reviewed journal.

I also keep a current edition of a wound care reference book and an IV therapy manual handy.

Books about dying and the spiritual aspects of Hospice are also good reading.

I hope you enjoy Hospice nursing as much as I do!

[Worthless_Nut]

Thank you so much for the advice and well wishes. I am looking forward to starting my new job and I know I have much to learn. It's nice to meet people who are willing to remember what it was like when they were new to their specialty and also willing to act as mentors to others.

[PghRN15]

Hospice is the only type of nursing I have ever done. Nursing is a second career for me. I was a hospice CNA, LPN and now RN. I cannot imagine working anywhere else.

[pfeliks]

Just an FYI. You'll need some time as a Hospice Nurse prior to being eligible for sitting for the examination:

'To be eligible for the HPCC CHPN® Examination, an applicant must hold a current, unrestricted registered nurse license in the United States, its territories, or the equivalent in Canada and must also have hospice and palliative nursing practice of 500 hours in the most recent 12 months or 1000 hours in the most recent 24 months prior to applying for the examination."