Paediatric - Palliative Care - Hospice

[Stargirl1980]

Hi everyone

I was just wondering if anyone can help.

I am a nurse and currently work on a very busy med/surg ward for young children. I have been a qualified nurse for a year now and have always had a keen interest for palliative care work. A job at a local hospice for children has recently opened up.

I was just wondering if:

1. Any of you work in a hospice relating to paediatrics.

2. If you could tell me your views on this type of work.

3. Whether on the whole you enjoy working in this field.

4. What I am likely to expect from what you've experienced.

I apologise if this makes no sense at all, just wanted a little personal insight into this type of work really. I imagine it to be such a special place to work and really can see myself working in a hospice.

Any advice/insight etc, would be very much appreciated.

Thanks Laura

[Stargirl1980]

ANYBODY OUT THERE WITH ANY VIEWS??? xx

[tewdles, RN]

Peds hospice is a tough field. If you have peds experience, feel comfortable with the fact that some children die from their illnesses, have an ability to effectively interact with the kids and their families...go for it! Many hospice nurses don't want anything to do with peds so there is usually room for qualified, interested nurses.

[debblynn13]

I agree with tewdles. It takes a special nurse to be able to take care of kids at end of life. I haven't had to take care of any children in my hospice career, yet. I feel that you need to know yourself really well. Will you be able to emotionally handle repeated deaths of children? Will the satisfaction of helping families learn how to make the child to be more comfortable and die as well as possible be enough to keep you going? Can you detach from the situation and still be emotionally available? It is a tough tightrope that some can do well, some can do, and others find they can't do at all. Do you have a good support system? Do you have a good healthy plan to rejuvenate yourself?

On the hospice organization..do they have a good support system for you? do they have debriefings?

I love what I do. I love helping families learn to take care of their loved ones. Could I handle a peds case? Probably but hope I don't have to find out too soon.

debblynn

[angieRN]

I was a pediatric nurse for 18 months before starting in hospice (almost 6 yrs. now) Because of my background, I am usually selected to care for any pediatric patients. It is VERY taxing on the staff involved. I would do some hospice work first to see how you handle that before making the jump into pediatric palliative care. If that were all you were doing, I can see the burnout happening very quickly. Thankfully, we don't get many cases. I had 2 years in between my last 2.