How to Become a Hospice Nurse
If you want to become a hospice nurse, you will need to be prepared to provide patient care to those who have reached the ends of their lives. As a hospice nurse, you need incredible compassion, the ability to work with many diverse people, a sense of spirituality and loads of patience.
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Instructions
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Find an accredited nursing school in your state and complete a rigorous academic program including, but not limited to chemistry, biology, algebra, anatomy and psychology. You will also need to train on-site during clinicals to get environmental experience.
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Utilize your nursing school's rotations in a hospice setting to determine if hospice care is right for you. If your nursing school does not have a hospice rotation, talk to your academic advisor in the program for other field options.
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Study geriatrics in nursing school and learn about the aging process. Hospice is end of life care and while not all patients will be elderly, you can expect many of them to be.
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Learn all you can about the common terminal diseases, especially those associated with old age. Once you become a hospice nurse, you will likely deal with age-related diseases on a daily basis.
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Take the state nursing certification exam where you live and pass it. All registered nurses must pass an exam overseen by the state board of nursing.
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Administer to the mental and emotional health of your patients' families as well as to the physical health of your patients. You will need to be kind and caring as well as direct and able to deal with life and death matters on a routine basis.
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Become accustom to death. Teach your patients and families that how you die is as important as how you live. Not everyone will accept fate easily, and many will fight it fiercely.
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Embrace a spiritual philosophy to help you cope with your job stress as well as instruct patients on how to deal with deal on a spiritual level.
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Tips & Warnings
To become a good hospice nurse, you must not be afraid of death and be able to witness intense suffering. You must ease patients' fears and watch as they endure unending pain.
Recognize the particular difficulties faced by a hospice nurse. Many patients will be old and their mental faculties will be less than they used to be. Others will be suffering the effects of devastating diseases that will also reduce their ability to comprehend and understand.
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Comments
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As a hospice RN, you need to know alot about disease, medications for the dying and a TON of compassion supportd for the patient and believe it or not more for the families that will be left behind after thier loved one leaves this earth. I wouldn't do any other job!
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kittyboxers
Dec 15, 2008
Most hospices do not hire new RN grads. At least one year of recent experience in oncology, critical care or med/surg is required. -
kittyboxers
Dec 15, 2008
Most hospices do not hire new RN grads. At least one year of recent experience in oncology, critical care or med/surg is required.
