How I know I want to be a hospice nurse: Part One.
When I have a load of 5 or 6 patients, I try to take equally great care of them all. Make sure they are all bathed, clean, happy, smelling good, smiles on their face, nice and snuggly.
However, throughout my whole shift, I find myself worrying about the one particular patient I have who is on hospice. I worry about him/her and I want to hurry back to their room as quick as I can to make sure they are doing okay. I find myself talking more intimately with this particular kind of patient to find out their story, to hear where they have been, to hear where they are going, to listen to their family and to bond.
Of course, I want my "healthy" patients to do just as well and I want them to progress and get better, too. But, something about the hospice patient pulls at my heart strings and I want nothing more than to make them comfortable. I want to fluff their pillows, turn them, powder their bottoms, turn the radio to some soft music, and offer them sips of water.
And I want to do that allllll day long.
Just sit with them and listen to them cry, laugh, vent, share.
Alllllll day.
And then I go home and I worry about them. And I pray for them. And I think about them often. That's how I know that hospice is for me. That's how I know where I want to be as a nurse.
Somewhere that pulls on my heart strings.
and somewhere that makes me want to be a better nurse EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
2 comments:
My hospice is a CNA but works for a hospice company and he loves it, because you can spend time with them and really make sure that they have what they need. The company he works for is really great too, and is good with you taking time with the patients.
husband not hospice. oops
Post a Comment