New to Inpatient Hospice, ratios,skills, help!

[LaLaEm4]

I currently work in a day program for adults with developmental disabilities, and have been there for a year. Looking for more of a challenge and change of scenery, and since I've always felt a pull towards hospice, I finally applied and got called in for an interview.

It's an inpatient hospice facility (not for profit, highly reputable), and the manager explained that the absolute max I would have would be 6-7 pt/ for one nurse/one aide each evening, with an average being around 4 pt/evening . I have briefly worked per diem at a poorly organized LTC, and while the acuity at hospice seems to be greater, am I right in thinking that the better ratio at hospice makes it slightly more manageable than the 20 residents/night at LTC? I'm very nervous and am shadowing another LPN next week. The hiring manager also expressed concern over my lack of clinical skills, but said that if I were willing to learn/put in the time (which I absolutely am!), they have plenty of tools/resources/support to offer during orientation and beyond. I'm very excited but am trying not to get my hopes too high.

This is something I really want to do, and do well- and am willing to put in the time after work to further my skills and learning...are these ratios doable?

Can anyone point me to any resources that might be beneficial to a nurse new to hospice? Can anyone tell me what their evenings look like? ANY advice is appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

[PurpleViolet]

Hi there!

I am an LPN and work nights in an IPU. 12 hr shifts. I have anywhere from 4-6 pts per night. Ranging from babies to elderly. The acuity can be very high due to the severity of the pts illnesses. That being said however it is doable. I have been a nurse for 13 yrs and definitely feel this is the best job I ever had. I feel it is because I have more time to really be a bedside nurse, meaning being able to spend that extra time tending to my pts and their families. You will do alot of end of life teaching with the families. It is a plus to be IV certified if you are an LPN. Most pts at my job are on IV/SQ medications to control their symptoms. The night usually flies by for me as there is never a dull moment. We do alot of electronic charting-our assessments and then a chronological note. Im sorry I cannot think of any site to guide you to however feel free to message me about anything. I will help answer any questions you may have.

[LaLaEm4]

Oh my goodness, thank you so much for this reply! The facility I'm interviewing with also takes patients across the lifespan, sounds very similar. I'm glad to hear that you say it's the best job you've ever had. I've heard of nurses only having 2-3 on inpatient hospice, and my concern with hearing 5-7 was that my bedside time would be limited. I know this organization offers IV certification and lots of training to new hires, so I'm looking forward to that. I will definitely message you, and again- thank you so much!