Very emotional nurse considering going into hospice nursing- good idea or not?

[RN416]

So I'm drawn to the field of hospice nursing because of the huge help I can be to people in such a difficult time in their lives, and the difference I can make in family members lives during a hard and anxious time for them. I have a deep sense of compassion and empathy for people and I feel their emotions very deeply. However, I'm worried that hospice would be too much of an emotional burden for me. I worry that when I lose a patient, I would cry and think about nothing but them and the family that whole day. But I'm still drawn to the field because of the major impact I can have on people in this field and the spiritual connection I can make with them. My husband thinks it would be too much of an emotional burden, but I would love to hear from experienced hospice nurses who know what the job is like... Is it a bad idea for me to consider hospice nursing sometime down the road?

[jess.mont, ADN, RN]

You might consider volunteering with Hospice as a Family Care Giver. There are 20 hours of training over 8 weeks and they really address many of the concerns you have. We have two nurses in my current training class, and I'm a pre-nursing student, so you'd probably be in good company!

[coffeetalker]

If you are thinking of doing hospice- you need to honestly ask yourself if you can learn to have better boundaries - and I'm not sure what you mean by 'the spiritual connection"- one of the big things about doing hospice is learning that " It ain't about me". (Almost) All hospice patients die- sometimes many over one weekend or two or three in one day/night- and if you are doing hospice, you still have to do your best for the patients that you have that are still alive; you don't have the luxury of "thinking of nothing but that family for the whole day". Keep hospice in mind for down the road after you get to think about it for a while. And I do think that the idea of volunteering is a good one.

[jess.mont, ADN, RN]

Excellent advice from coffeemaker! We talk about boundaries all the time in our training. It's so important.

[nutella, MSN, RN]

So I'm drawn to the field of hospice nursing because of the huge help I can be to people in such a difficult time in their lives, and the difference I can make in family members lives during a hard and anxious time for them. I have a deep sense of compassion and empathy for people and I feel their emotions very deeply. However, I'm worried that hospice would be too much of an emotional burden for me. I worry that when I lose a patient, I would cry and think about nothing but them and the family that whole day. But I'm still drawn to the field because of the major impact I can have on people in this field and the spiritual connection I can make with them. My husband thinks it would be too much of an emotional burden, but I would love to hear from experienced hospice nurses who know what the job is like... Is it a bad idea for me to consider hospice nursing sometime down the road?

Boundaries ....

there is a difference between being helpful and relating to other peoples struggles in a constructive way and some kind of no boundary action that results in chaos, enabling people, and burn-out.

Ask yourself what you real motif is. If it is secondary gain because you want to be "the one" who "rescues" the patient and family in any way you might want to re-think.

[KJoRN81, RN]

You know, I was the same way too when I started my position. I have found, however, that the patients that are actively dying make me LESS sad than the ones who still have aways to go in their journey. (I work with acute and respite hospice patients in a hospice unit in the hospital) It's important, like others have said, to have boundaries as well as time to decompress when you get home. It can be difficult to not take it home with you, but I think over time you'll learn coping mechanisms, etc.

Good luck to you!