NurseMarla

I can't speak for all hospices, but at ours Case Managers do everything from admissions to ordering diapers. This is by no means all of it, but some of the things I am expected to do are: admissions deaths/discharges assessment treatments obtaining orders ordering meds ordering supplies ordering DME consulting with MSW/office/MD/chaplains/facility staff educating families IDT meetings evaluating CNAs pretty much, we're responsible for every aspect of the patient's care and coordinate the other disciplines. Nothing is done that isn't set into motion by the case manager.

I get a lot of appreciation from the community. Cashiers will tell me how much hospice helped their grandmother, etc. If I do happen to see a bit of a cringe, I take the opportunity to educate about what hospice has evolved into.

Good job! Now quit wasting your time online & go get a job! :lol_hitti

Not as of yet. I've only been a nurse for a few months, but I've loved every minute and can't imagine doing anything else. Of course, I went straight in to hospice so I never had to deal with the hospital headache.

I visited the home of an actively dying patient last night. The extended family was there, and there were a lot of understandably upset people there. The chaplain came, and the elderly husband began weeping (as were others). I was 2 hours in to a 3 hour visit, and I just couldn't hold on anymore. I hurried to another room and cried for about 2 minutes, then went back in and got back to work. I did get caught by 1 family member, but he was very understanding (even when I got mascara on his shirt). This family really seems to like me. They requested for me to be their case manager, thank me constantly, and even told me today that "hospice is truly your calling." I've done plenty of crying in my car in the whole 3 months I've been in hospice, and at a wake, but this was the first time I cried in a patient's home. I don't feel overwhelmed or burnt out, it was just a sad moment. So how unprofessional/detrimental is this sort of thing?

Skirt suit, hose, modest, closed-toe heels that match your bag. Minimal jewelry & perfume/fragrance, clean natural nails, a smile.

Kinda weird. I'm in home hospice, and today I did a supervisory visit on a CNA, then I went to see about a skin tear on one of my pts, visited another new patient who is acitively dying, then went to a staff meeting where we were told that the big boss lady was no longer with us and another had resigned. I worked very closely with these people and the office will be very different now. I don't know what happened. Plus, I missed a funeral for one of my patients that I wanted to go to. I'm still on call, and expect to go out to pronounce another patient sometime tonight, so no relaxing with a glass of cheap wine & a bad movie for me.

I'm in home hospice now, so I don't see much of our aides; they've all been friendly when I do see them though (maybe because I do their evaluations ). However, when I was doing clinicals in an inpatient hospice (I'm a new grad) the CNAs were very rude, made comments about how slow I was, happened to be talking about how nurses shouldn't smoke every time I came through the door (as they sat on their 200 lb situpons eating Snickers- no offense to the heavier ladies, I'm just saying you shouldn't throw stones). I don't know why they did this, but it made me feel terrible. As if I wasn't beating myself up already for taking 2 hours to pass meds to my 12 patients; I didn't need it from them.

I sent out maybe 30-40 applications and got 2 interviews. I was hired at the first one, fortunately. None of the hospitals even responded, and I ended up in hospice where I wanted to be anyway but thought I needed experience. I also sent all of those out after the NCLEX but before I was issued a license. I applied to a few more positions after licensure and got a much better response. So my advice is to think outside the box; apply to hospitals but think about other settings that might interest you, despite what you might have heard about needing med/surg experience.

Yes, I do. I was only able to get in as quickly as I did because I was one of the few that heard about their new Spring semester class (at the time). Keep your GPA up and do well in A&P and you should be fine.

I'm in GA, and most hospitals start off @ 22/hr. Fortunately, I started in hospice @ 27/hr

I've been working for a couple of months now, and I know I should have looked into it sooner, but I didn't. I don't have malpractice insurance, and I can't find a lot of info on it. How much does it cost, where do you get it, etc. TIA

Granted, my experience is limited, but from what I've seen so far death is not necessarily painful, but it is hard work. I've seen more effort than pain in my transitioning patients.

Go ahead and go to the interview; the decision may be easier once you have more info. It sounds like what you're saying is that the smart move would be to accept the new job, but you have a moral objection to showing "lack of loyalty," so to speak. That's a good attitude to have, but you have the rest of your career to be a martyr Besides, you'd be opening up another great opportunityfor a new grad, and you know how scarce they are.

I'd be right where I am :) I graduated in December and went straight into Hospice (in May, due to molassas-like BON), and I've been thanking my lucky stars every day since. I never want to do anything else.