Want to Be a Hospice Nurse?
Hospice Nursing is a field of nursing where nurses care for terminally ill and dying patients. These nurses often work in Hospices or in a hospital setting. This field has attracted the interest of a lot of interest from nurses, but most of them are afraid to go into it. The reason for that is the stigma attached with Hospice Nursing. Most nurses think that Hospice Nursing is a very sad and depressing profession. However, Hospice nursing doesn’t have to be like that. It all depends on the nurse’s outlook. Those who go to work with a positive attitude will find that Hospice Nursing is as fulfilling as any other nursing field.
What is Hospice Care?
Hospice is considered a care Philosophy. It is a field where practitioners care for the terminally ill and the dying. Patients who seek Hospice care include those who have end-stage conditions. These may involve patients with Cancer, AIDS, Renal Failure and other terminal illnesses. Hospices may also provide care to the dying elderly, but those cases are usually cared for by geriatric homes.
Empathy Above All Else
In school, nurses are taught to practice Empathy and not sympathy. When they care for their patients they are instructed to say “I Understand How You Feel”. Empathy allows nurses to recognize or understand how a patient or a patient’s family member is feeling, without getting too emotionally involved. This way, the nurse can better care for them. That’s why Empathy is important in Hospice Nursing.
At the point of death, nurses should keep in mind that patient’s family needs their privacy. If family members ask them to stay, they should decline. However, if they feel that they have to stay – they should be a comforting figure in the room. They should not be one of the people crying their eyes out. If there is a need to cry, they can seek comfort from their co-nurses and not from the patient’s family members.
Sympathy is a not advocated in nursing – especially Hospice Nursing. Sympathy occurs when nurses become too emotionally involved with the patients and their families that they feel compassion for them. This emotion is characterized with the longing to see the people you are sympathetic for happier or better off. It could interfere with a nurse’s actions – it make him/her do something that is not for them to do. It could make them spout words of reassurance – even if there is none.
Aside from sympathy, hospice nurses should also avoid feeling Pity for their patients. They should also avoid Apathy and Schadenfreude. Apathy is not caring how others feel Schadenfreude is when you feel good about other people’s misery. Hospice nurses should also avoid Emotional Contagion and Telepathy. Telepathy is the practice of concluding how other feel even without them saying it.
How To Become a Hospice Nurse
In general, Hospice nurses need to have a solid educational background. In the UK and some Asian countries, nurses are required an NVQ certification before they can practice. The US , the Philippines as well as several other countries require their nurses to be licensed. In the US, the nurse has the option of either earning a bachelor’s degree or an associate degree in nursing.
Some Hospice managers prefer to hire nurses who have a background in the care of the dying. They may also ask their nurses to gain certification in hospice care. Certification is obtained from Hospice nursing organizations.
Employment Opportunities for Hospice Nurses
If you want to find work as a Hospice Nurse in the US, UK , Australia or any country abroad . You can check with your recruitment agency to see if they provide Hospices with nurses. There are a lot of Hospices abroad and most of them are understaffed. Having a background in Critical Care or Medical Surgical nursing may help you get hired faster.
Hospice Nurses treat their patients like they would any other. The fact that the patient is dying should not be a factor in the degree of care provided to them. Hospice nurses should strive to make the patient’s final days as comfortable as possible and that is done through the administration of proper nursing care.
Published at: 03/22/2015
