Argumentative Essay On Hospice

1106 Words5 Pages

The topic of hospice nursing is not a popular topic, and to be fair, the subject of death is uncomfortable and even anxiety-producing for many across professions. As a whole, the nursing profession seeks to intervene with treatments and diagnoses and seeks to make the patient better. In hospice, the focus shifts from those traditional concepts to one that focuses almost entirely on quality of life with the understanding that death is imminent. Nurses are a vital part of end-of-life care, and while it's not a flashy specialty depicted in media, nor is it one of the top-paying specialties, it is one that is growing in demand alongside the aging baby-boomer generations. So, what is the hospice nursing specialty about? For all your hospice questions, …show more content…

Hospice is the care for a person who is terminally ill, meaning without or maybe even with medical interventions they are facing their last months or even weeks of life. Hospice care means instead of trying to diagnose and cure the patient, we try to relieve pain and provide comfort. The definition of hospice is very holistic because it takes into consideration the emotional or spiritual aspects of our patients and not only their disease, it focuses on helping people die with dignity and respect.

What's the difference between palliative care and hospice? Yeah, people confuse those often. Both focus on medical care that is focused on quality of life and comfort for the patients, but hospice is specifically for people who have a life expectancy of six months or less and have decided not to pursue any medical treatments that have the goal of curing them. On the other hand, palliative care is an option for anyone with a serious and long-term diagnosis, even if they aren't terminal, and while receiving palliative care they can still opt for medical interventions and treatments with the goal of getting …show more content…

I actually worked as a CNA while I was going to college because I knew I wanted to be a nurse, and so that kind of a job made sense, and then of course probably helped me get into nursing school because I had some perspective on what nurses really do. Anyway, I worked as a CNA in a nursing home. Lots of CNA jobs are actually in nursing homes, and even though it wasn't the setting I thought I wanted, it ended up being what introduced me to hospice. Working at the nursing home, it wasn't uncommon to have residents convert to hospice care plans. Not everyone does it, I think there's this instinct we all have to fight against the idea of death. To be clear, I am not saying anything bad about fighting an illness or a disease or a condition. But when residents would convert to hospice care, often, there would be a weight lifted for themselves and sometimes even their families. Sometimes the decision was made by the residents themselves, being aware enough to decide for themselves that they were ready to stop fighting and focus on acceptance. Those were touching moments, but of course not everyone who transitions to hospice care is cognizant enough to make that decision, so it falls to the family members. As a CNA in those situations, my support role felt very caring. So yeah, that all planted the seed. When I graduated with my BSN and got licensed, I didn't go straight to hospice. I worked in a hospital for a few years.