Student Nurses and Hospice patients

rngolfer53 · Nov 12, 2008

I am a student set to graduate from an LPN program in 9 weeks. I am currently assigned to a clinical rotation on a unit that has 6 inpatient hospice beds. I do not know the requirements to be admitted to these beds, but from what I have seen most if not all of these patients are actively dying.
I was wanting to get your opinion on students caring for hospice patients, both pros and cons. From what I have heard it is very unusual for students to get this opportunity so I thought it would be interesting to see what the professional's opinion is.

I did a rotation in hospice as a student. It was home care, and none of the Pts I saw were actively dying. But, it did confirm my inkling of hospice being the nursing field for me.

The hospice I work for has an inpatient facility, and there are students here, though not many at one time. Many of the Pts at the hospice house are actively dying, or have symptoms that are difficult to control.

If you have any thoughts about hospice being an area of interest, this should be a great opportunity to see first hand. And if not, you can still learn an awful lot, especially about interacting with dying loved ones and their families. A good, experienced hospice nurse serves as a trusted guide through that journey.

rnboysmom · Nov 14, 2008

j-me

Awesome that someone that built your program thought to include a rotation in a hospice in-patient. Please listen and watch, and learn closely. I recently read that the average nursing student gets less that 5 hours total experience of death and dying throughout their schooling. (We nurses are lucky, actually that is more than the average student in an MD program!). What a short time to teach something that every single person in their lifetime will experience. It's not like L&D or ICU or psych, as not all people will come into contact with that type of situation, but death and dying is something that every single person will experience at some point with their family, or on their own. Things to be looking for----if you observe, you will find that most patients are much more accepting of their own death that their family is of them leaving this Earth;often, there is this peace that envelops them, they often look upwards and frequently speak of "going home" or start seeing people that have passed. This is a great opportunity to get a good grasp on pain and symptom control, and to allow yourself the chance to "dispel the morphine myth" that often lurks in our closets. This is a great learning opportunity--embrace it!!

leslie :-D · Nov 14, 2008

it indeed, is a wonderful opportunity...

but it's important you get permission from the pts/families.

(actively) dying is often an immensely personal time.

if no one minds, then observe all that you can.

best of everything.

leslie