The "older" Hopsice Nurse

Specialties Hospice

Published

:nurse:I am a 52 year old RN who left Hospice 3 years ago because I was tired of the call/weekend/holiday issues. I miss the work a lot,and tried to fill that void with being involved on the volunteer level.I switched to school nursing, which of course has INCREDIBLE hours , very good hourly pay and no holidays/weekends/call etc. It also has very minimal sense of personal reward. I took the job figuring it would be a job I could do into retirement. I have TRIED to make the job better, but I still miss hospice nursing. I know that I may not be able to do (home) Hospice nursing till I retire, but I figure I could still probably have several great years left. I am in pretty good health, with the exception of some hip bursitis and rotator cuff problems. I have been offered a position with minimal call/weekend requirements . As I remember, most of the Hospice nurses I worked with were in their 30's or 40's. I would love input from others in my age range,about the challenges/joys/tips that are different with our age group. Thank you .

I am a bit younger. I started Hospice nursing 8 years ago at 35 years old. But, I have seen much older hospice nurses then the ages mentioned! One of the most stellar individuals I worked with as ready? 72 years old, and she still works 3 days a week per diem! She is the best.

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Specializes in Hospice, Oncology.

Lakewin (&Tewdles) - Well "they" say, you're only as old as you feel. I say, "don't ask my body parts." LOL.

I am 53, rounding the corner on 54. Even though I have only been a hospice nurse for a little over a year, I feel like I've been meant to do it all my life!

I started with a "for-Profit" hospice. While I am not knocking for profit hospices, for me it was not in agreement with my values and morals. We operated with LPN's who were the primary nurses, and the RN's were more like "Medicare runners." We were responsible for on-call rotation (all hours of the night), plus our 40-hr weeks, and continuous care, and admissions. There were times that I felt like I was "recruiting" hospice patients so that someone else could put money in their pockets. It had nothing to do with the quality of care for someone at the end of their life.

I took a significant cut in pay, and was blessed with a job at a "not for profit" hospice. I work M-F, 8-4:30, am only on call one holiday a year!!! We have separate continuous care nurses, on-call nurses as well as PRN nurses who help out when necessary. What a world of difference! I always say, you can't put a price tag on your happiness, or anyone's elses for that matter. I now feel like I am doing "quality" nursing and not "quantity" nursing!

I would encourage anyone who is getting burned out because of the tough demands with some of these hospice organizations, to check out other hospices that may utilize different scenarios towards patient care. It truly does make a difference.

I, too, hope to do this into retirement. If I feel, at some point, that the case management becomes too much, I will look into inpatient hospice, or PRN.

Best of luck to all who devote themselves to the care of these people, who teach us so much about life!

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Specializes in Hospice, Psyc, post surg.

I realize this subject line was started about 8 months ago & I'm now another year older, but at 62 I plan to work in Hospice until I retire in 4 yrs. I job share, work a week then off a week. No nights & very few weekends. My case management partner & I do SNF, ALF, & Alz Units. Generally speaking there are available CG's to help me with any heavy lifting or care. This is a dream job for me & I'm very grateful.

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Specializes in Med Surg, Hospice, Home Health.

I'm 47, I do weekend call 5pfri-8amonday and prefer this to case management m-f

we need seasoned nurses to do this job....

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