Ideal Hospice Nurse

Ideal Hospice Nurse

The goal of a hospice nurse is to enable patients to continue an alert, pain-free life and to manage other symptoms so that there last days may be spent with dignity and quality, surrounded by their loved ones. Hospice nurses have a particular tough job because from the outside they know that the patient for whom they are caring for is terminally ill and dealing with that issue that you know someone dies everyday requires a lot of strength. Hospice nurses perform many traditional nursing duties such as observing, assessing, and recording symptoms, and they still work closely with physicians, administer medications, and provide emotional support. The ideal Hospice nurse role involves pain management and supportive care, 24/7 availability, compassionate and great at listening and communicating with patients.

Pain management is one of the central goals of hospice care. Most patients and families who use hospice services expect that the hospice nurse will make every effort to relieve the pain which affects their loved one(s).

It has been said before that listening and communicating to the patients is one of the most important things that a hospice nurse does. Not only must a nurse listen to the patient but also to family members and the hospice staff. Listening is a lot of work because you have to make sure that you are focused on what the patient is saying and make them see that you do care. In "Hospice Moments" the author writes "In my experience as a Hospice nurse, the message remained loud and clear, that if I listened to the "still, small voice," the path would be made known." (Page 92) Communicating can be somewhat difficult to do because any opinions that you have you would have to keep it to yourself and make sure that you don't say anything that your not suppose too. Communicating with a patient makes them feel more comfortable with you and they feel that they can confide in you. In Hospice Moments the author writes "Two days later during a conversation, Norma asked to speak with me privately." (Page 92) Many times listening and communicating problems are what leads to an unpleasant interaction with the patient. The better the skills are the easier it will be for the patient and the nurse.