Personal Narrative: My Experience As A Hospice Nurse

Improved Essays
Journal Assignment #2
As a new nurse, I started working in a local hospice agency located near my house. Among the duties I performed as hospice nurse include calling patients and their families to follow up on their conditions. One of the patients that I needed to check up on regularly was Mrs. L.J., an 82-year-old Lebanese woman residing in a skilled nursing facility (SNF). She had been admitted to the hospice from an oncology medical center and had been a hospice patient for less than a week. Mrs. L.J.’s primary caregiver (PCG) was her younger sister, A.J. Prior to her latest hospitalization, Mrs. L.J. had been living in the SNF for the past four years. The SNF charge nurse explained to the hospice team that Mrs. L.J. was initially admitted to the SNF with the diagnosis of chronic heart failure which had been appropriately managed, controlled, and cared for in the SNF. Mrs. L.J. history and physical from the oncology hospital had indicated that six-months ago, she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. During that hospital stay, Mrs. L.J. had a
…show more content…
Our hospice medical director instructed to resume Mrs. L.J.’s feedings until a meeting at Mrs. L.J.’s SNF was arranged to discuss A.J.’s concerns about her sister’s nutrition and end-of-life (EOL) care. Nonetheless, A.J. refused to resume the GT feedings and/or to participate in the IDT meeting. In addition, she threatened with terminating her sister’s hospice enrollment. As a nurse, I understood that A.J. was the person responsible of making her sister’s EOL care decisions. Yet, Mrs. L.J. had been admitted to hospice with a GT in place and A.J. had agreed to continue her sister’s feeding to provide the necessary nutrition to keep her comfortable and able to function to the extent of her own abilities. I felt troubled by A.J.’s actions and conflicted by her reasons behind the order to reduce Mrs. L.J. normal GT

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    My day started a bit off, I had an emergency that morning that made me run a bit late for clinical. This made me miss some important information such as, how nurses in NCBH hand over to the next shift, but aside that, I had a wonderful day working with nurse Mrs. Osei. She welcomes me by introducing herself, which I responded likewise. She took me with her to do her morning rounds and administer medication to her assigned patient. After we were done with her morning medication, I went to one of her patient whom I was assign to by Mrs. Natasha to perform mini mental survey and general assessment on the patients.…

    • 292 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Monday, September 21st: My role in clinical today was clinic manager. This role is responsible for helping Mrs. Lutz in running the clinic. The first task of the day was to test the glucose meter to make sure that it is calibrated correctly. At first the glucose meters were not reading correctly.…

    • 1186 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This short case study has a significant range of legal and ethical principles which contribute to the outcome of the outcome if Marion will continue or abandon treatment. The team who is treating Marion must refer to the Advance Care Directive and ensure they follow this carefully to ensure Marion’s best wishes. This is because an Advance Care Directive is a legal form for adults over the age of 18, in scenarios in which a person has impaired decision-making capacity, the Advance Care Directive will have instructions, vales and wishes for future health care (Advance Care Directives 2014). Marion’s parents state that she has an Advance Care Directive however, the treating team are unable to take their word and must obtain a copy to ensure the information is correct.…

    • 1110 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When I was a child and a lot of times during my adolescence I had several moments of indecision about the things that I wanted. From the simplest to the most complicated. And although it was hard to choose what to write or what flavor of ice cream to buy, I was always sure of one thing: I like to help people. That's why I chose nursing as my career to college because this was a way I found to realize my dream; being able to help my fellow man when he needs it most. Care, protect, guide and support anyone who needs, help others to face their fears and challenges, it is very rewarding!…

    • 277 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In March of 2015 I decided to take a huge leap of faith and start back to school to become a Reg.istered Nurse. The thought of a Bachelors in nursing never rossed my mind at the time I was just ready for something new, something more. At that point I had been in the dental field for sixteen years and I was ready for a change. What really helped drive this diction to change was my part time job working at a nursing home, I knew then I had more to give. This dream however was not a new dream it was one a long time in the making.…

    • 515 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Transitioning from an LVN to a Registered Nurse When I was in school to become a Licensed Vocational Nurse, I had not planned to continue on to become a Registered Nurse. I felt that being a LVN was going to be enough. The truth is that I was afraid of the responsibilities that being a Registered Nurse carries. Once I started working I saw that the Registered Nurses on my unit were responsible for a set of patients just like I was. At the time I could only see small differences in what they were doing and what I was doing.…

    • 1038 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I questioned how being a hospice nurse could feel rewarding. I heard several stories from the attending nurses. I didn’t realize how much of an impact these nurses had on not only the patient but also on the family. It has been said that “It is more than just a job, it is a true passion and some would even say that it is a calling.”…

    • 1010 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Pediatric Palliative Care

    • 1729 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The nurse in this case is pivotal to the continuation of proper care for family as the child dies. Emphasis of holistic care…

    • 1729 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    As a future register nurse and as a woman I feel that a have a tremendous responsibility to give back to my community. I believe that one of the most forgotten populations in our community is the elderly, and as a society we have so much to learn from them and to thank them for what they did in the past. I strongly believe that if I could make some positive changes I would decide to do them to influence some senior citizens’ lives and to change their isolation for companion and thankfulness. I would advocate for the elderly with our authorities and I would request a budget to build a clinic to provide preventive health care services for them. I would designate a budget to build a nursing home for the elderly that do not have a place to…

    • 287 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Nursing has been around for a very long time. To be successful in any career, you must know the job position, duties and responsibilities. Most (CNA) training programs last about eight weeks. The pay is average, and doesn’t change much, even though some CNA’s have been in the field longer than others. There are many duties that are expected from the CAN and some require good physical ability, as well as, certain characteristics that would make me good for the job.…

    • 1002 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The person I decided to interview was Kristen McKenna, a registered nurse. I interviewed her over the phone since she resides in Maryland. I chose to interview her since she has the profession that resembled a physician assistant the most in comparison to others I could have contacted, plus I know her parents fairly well and knew I could easily get an interview with her. All of my contacts live in other states so unfortunately it was not possible for me to schedule a meeting with any of them. The specific questions I prepared were essentially the ones that were provided in the “Possible Questions to Ask During the Information Interview” section.…

    • 1037 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As approaching my senior year in highschool there were a lot of great things to come ahead. Like whether to leave the state for college and most of all what to major in. As my major of choice found its way to be the topic of discussion in most cases , I often would run into my childhood dreams of having a wealthy life and taking care of others. The many aspects of my life from my mother being a diabetic and my grandmother having alzheimers would often lead me to the smarter carrer, nursing . To me, being a nurse is not just a job, it’s a life long journey that I would love to embark on .…

    • 279 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I recall memories of my mother and I spending time together when I was younger. We talked about numerous things that led to discovering what type of person my mother is and who she wanted to be. Talking with her helped me learn who I wanted to be. I wanted to be just like her. The moment my mother told me she wanted to become a nurse, I decided that is who I wanted to become.…

    • 1491 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There is not enough information to go on to find out how the Director of nursing and the nursing staff arrived at their decision on how to provide care for Grace’s treatment. It seems like to great deal of information gathering took place and it seems like they were just interested in treating her condition without regards to her wishes and whether the care would make a difference or not in treating the patient condition. Since this case study will not actually see an actionable ending, self-assessment will be valuable in evaluating what as healthcare providers how my performance affected that patient and whether the action taken were in the best interest of the patient in line with the professional code of ethics and the organizational goal. The mission of healthcare providers is to provide the best care to our patient in line with their stated wishes if they are able to express them and in case of missing those the patient has granted durable power of attorney.…

    • 1074 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    I am proud to say that I found my purpose in life. Being a nurse is my calling and it is a privilege. I am called to nursing and found it so meaningful and enjoyable to work and serve the public. I have enough compassion for my patients. I believe I was suited for this.…

    • 102 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays