Hospice rotation
My program is very cool. It has several special rotations for us throughout the 2 years to allow us the chance to see all the different specialties - Long Term Care, physical therapy, surgery, mental health, etc. This semester we get LTC and Hospice.
I got to go to Hospice first (even before going to the hospital which means that I will get lost tomorrow but that's ok because Methodist is frikkin HUGE and everyone gets lost...)
anywho so I went to Hospice yesterday and today. First couple of patients were doing fine, checked the meds, took vitals. Generally they didn't need anything, they were doing ok.
The last one was a different story. Elderly throat cancer patient with metastisis to both lungs and a host of other complications, including a tracheotomy tube and a feeding tube in his abdomen. Yesterday he was fine, sat up and wrote out that he was interested in getting a voice box mic and was answering questions. He even stood up on his own for a bit.
Today...he was gone already, his body just hadn't caught up yet.
Very fascinating to see how quickly it occurred. We were there for several hours helping the family understand the situation and helping them make the calls to everyone else and the funeral parlor. (They really had thought that they had more time)
It was very rewarding to be a part of it all. I definitely would love to work Hospice. I'll get a couple of years working in the hospital first, but once I think I'm ready...it was really great.
I even got a kudos from my RN, she said that I handled it all very well and that she would certainly vouch for me in the future. not to shabby!
I got to go to Hospice first (even before going to the hospital which means that I will get lost tomorrow but that's ok because Methodist is frikkin HUGE and everyone gets lost...)
anywho so I went to Hospice yesterday and today. First couple of patients were doing fine, checked the meds, took vitals. Generally they didn't need anything, they were doing ok.
The last one was a different story. Elderly throat cancer patient with metastisis to both lungs and a host of other complications, including a tracheotomy tube and a feeding tube in his abdomen. Yesterday he was fine, sat up and wrote out that he was interested in getting a voice box mic and was answering questions. He even stood up on his own for a bit.
Today...he was gone already, his body just hadn't caught up yet.
Very fascinating to see how quickly it occurred. We were there for several hours helping the family understand the situation and helping them make the calls to everyone else and the funeral parlor. (They really had thought that they had more time)
It was very rewarding to be a part of it all. I definitely would love to work Hospice. I'll get a couple of years working in the hospital first, but once I think I'm ready...it was really great.
I even got a kudos from my RN, she said that I handled it all very well and that she would certainly vouch for me in the future. not to shabby!