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r/hospicestaff

▲ 1 r/hospicestaff+1 crossposts

Is this home Hospice RN position too good to be true?

I have lots of non hospice acute RN experience and feel like I could appreciate this field a lot.

I’ve interviewed earlier today for home hospice and it probably went well. In Michigan covering a 50 mile range, low traffic.

FT Tues Wed Thurs

No weekends. Salaried (so no pay for OT). 1 call shift every 10 days or so when night coverage is away.

First day all admissions 2-3 patients
2nd and third days home visits 5-7 visits.

I am worried I could be working 16 hr days or be buried in charting. Is this common?

There are no guarantees and the company has a decent reputation and staff that try to work around extenuating circumstances though I am worried.

Any thoughts?
Thank you

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u/jax44455 — 3 days ago
▲ 3 r/hospicestaff+1 crossposts

Curiosity

Hospice nurses, LTC nurses, aides, families, social workers, chaplains. I want ALL the tea on YOUR perspectives on this question: What’s something you wish had been covered more during hospice orientation/training?

What did you have to learn the hard way after being sent out into the wild?

Could be:
• difficult conversations with families
• recognizing decline/transitions
• symptom management
• comfort meds
• documentation
• death visits
• dementia behaviors
• when to increase nurse visits
• what NOT to say
• family dynamics
• handling your own emotions after losses
• literally anything

And listen… there’s always that ONE patient/family situation where nobody — and I mean nobody — could’ve prepared you for what happened. Share those too. Those are often the experiences that teach us the most.

I’d love for newer nurses, experienced nurses, and the hospice OGs to all share things that helped them grow — or things they wish someone had warned them about sooner.

Families/caregivers: please feel free to share what you wish your hospice team would’ve educated you on better, or things you wish nurses had more training on before caring for your loved one.

Please keep this educational and constructive. No nurse-shaming in the comments. Healthcare is hard enough already, and most of us are out here trying our best while being handed emotionally impossible situations on a random Tuesday at 2:17 PM.

Personally, I wish I’d had more education and practice with hard conversations, especially knowing how to be honest without taking away hope or sounding emotionally detached… still need help so SOS.

I also wish there had been more emphasis on:
• recognizing decline earlier
• anticipating the transitioning stage
• preparing families for what’s coming
• understanding when/how to start deprescribing certain meds
• choosing the RIGHT comfort meds for individualized symptoms
• what the last month of life realistically looks like
• when it’s time to increase nurse visits and shift the plan of care

I really think we could learn a lot from each other and help newer hospice nurses feel more prepared, supported, and confident. <3

u/Nurse-Smiley — 10 days ago