A Day with a Hospice Nurse
Hospice nursing is more than just “nursing”, its listening, showing compassion and being and advocate for peace and comfort. Hospice nurses provide individualized care to their patients and families during a time of difficulty and transitioning.
During each of our visits, the nurse demonstrated respect for the patient’s views and wishes by asking permission before entering or performing and part of the assessment. She was also actively listening to concerns and asking what else she can do for them. In addition, she made sure to obtain their permission to have a student present, before I entered any of the rooms. While I shadowed the nurse, I saw many aspects of the competencies displayed in the way the she provided …show more content…
She used scientifically based standardized tools in doing so by asking him about his pain on a zero to ten scale, while also asking if he were having any shortness of breath. Followed by which she asked about his bowel habits, then continued onto auscultating his lungs, heart, and bowel sounds. She also checked his morphine pump to see how often it had been utilized for pain control, along with checking the site for infiltration and signs of infection. She communicated effectively and compassionately with the family about his current status and pain management, in addition to, educating the family not to push the button on the morphine pump, and to allow him to decide when he is in need of pain control. Additionally, he has a stage two pressure sore on his bottom, so she was able promoted comfort in dying by educating the family on the importance of barrier creams, and frequent repositioning off his back to alleviate pressure.
Throughout my day with hospice we visited several patients in which the nurses continually showed compassionate care and an individualized approach. She clearly understood each of her patients and their family’s needs and communicated effectively about the dying process and symptom management to promote comfort. It was very evident to me that she had demonstrated many of the competencies necessary to provide high quality care in her interaction during the
Hospice nursing is more than just “nursing”, its listening, showing compassion and being and advocate for peace and comfort. Hospice nurses provide individualized care to their patients and families during a time of difficulty and transitioning.
During each of our visits, the nurse demonstrated respect for the patient’s views and wishes by asking permission before entering or performing and part of the assessment. She was also actively listening to concerns and asking what else she can do for them. In addition, she made sure to obtain their permission to have a student present, before I entered any of the rooms. While I shadowed the nurse, I saw many aspects of the competencies displayed in the way the she provided …show more content…
She used scientifically based standardized tools in doing so by asking him about his pain on a zero to ten scale, while also asking if he were having any shortness of breath. Followed by which she asked about his bowel habits, then continued onto auscultating his lungs, heart, and bowel sounds. She also checked his morphine pump to see how often it had been utilized for pain control, along with checking the site for infiltration and signs of infection. She communicated effectively and compassionately with the family about his current status and pain management, in addition to, educating the family not to push the button on the morphine pump, and to allow him to decide when he is in need of pain control. Additionally, he has a stage two pressure sore on his bottom, so she was able promoted comfort in dying by educating the family on the importance of barrier creams, and frequent repositioning off his back to alleviate pressure.
Throughout my day with hospice we visited several patients in which the nurses continually showed compassionate care and an individualized approach. She clearly understood each of her patients and their family’s needs and communicated effectively about the dying process and symptom management to promote comfort. It was very evident to me that she had demonstrated many of the competencies necessary to provide high quality care in her interaction during the