Hospice Nurses: Role in End-Of-Life Care

The nature of hospice nurses are not only limited to providing physical comfort for the patients. Hospice Nurses invite comfort and peace throughout the end-of-life journey. They are hands-on in managing pain and symptoms, providing support to patients and their families, as well as being an expert in administering care. Find out how they focus entirely on end-of-life care and ease the process of dying with dignity.

 

Duties of a Hospice Nurse

Hospice nurses undertake a variety of tasks mainly providing personal care and emotional support. They perform patient assessments and also provide relief for family members. The duties of a hospice nurse that you don’t see in brochures or service catalogues on websites are the softer side of care. Find out more about what hospice nurses do!

 

1. Hospice nurses ensures comfort care for patients

Hospice nurses are on the front lines of ensuring their patients are as pain-free and symptom-free. Consistently they assess patients’ needs, create care plans, and give end-of-life assistance to patients and their families on a regular basis. Hands-on and direct care for patients contributes to a significant amount of a hospice nurse’s responsibilities.

 

2. Hospice nurses are best in providing emotional & spiritual support

Nurses and their patients create a strong and special emotional bond as they get to know each other. Giving assurance to your loved one and relieving them of worry and concern about what they will leave behind. Nurses have such a deep understanding of a patient’s end-of-life journey, patients share things to their nurse that they might not even tell their closest family members, such as treasured stories or strong concerns.

Some patients may even find comfort in their religious and spiritual beliefs, and hospice nurses ensure that their feelings are soothed according to their own preferences. It is greatly beneficial when patients share valuable information that caregivers can use to deliver quality care.

 

3. Hospice nurses provide social support

When someone is nearing the end of their life, just being present can be enough to give them hope. It can be lonesome thinking about your loved one’s final days but hospice nurses, with their unwavering spirit of compassion, provide a comfortable source of social connection and purpose for patients.

Despite how simple it is, the comfort that a strong social connection offers cannot be underestimated. Hospice nurses can make your loved one feel the warmth and compassion of care to soothe any tension or pressure.

 

4. Hospice nurses will always be there for you

Hospice nurses give a compassionate, reassuring presence to ensure the patient is as comfortable as possible during their last days. They always keep track of how your loved one is doing on a daily basis to see if their condition has improved and manage every situation by reassuring them that things will be taken care of to provide a measure of peace.

 

5. Hospice nurses ensure that patients receive the best possible care.

Hospice nurses are committed to care for the patient’s physical comfort, emotional demand, spiritual concerns, and mental needs. Terminally ill patients require specialized care so nurses are essential to the health care team’s ability to track a patient’s progress as well as providing high-quality treatment.

The goal of hospice nurses and the rest of the patient’s care team is to improve a patient’s overall level of comfort while assuring that the care plan is in line with the patient’s end-of-life wishes. Consider a health care team that will gain your trust!

 

Conclusion

Hospice nurses are the backbone of hospice care. They have a huge impact on all aspects of a hospice organization’s performance as well as the lives of the patients, caregivers, and families they help. 

While hospice nursing is a challenging career, for many hospice nurses, it is also a calling — a calling to be an understanding, compassionate and encouraging presence for people who are nearing the end of life. Hospice nurses are people you can count on to ease your loved one’s suffering and improve their daily life.