The Good Nurse: How Can I Help?

Six years ago, I graduated nursing school and became a Licensed Vocational Nurse. My first job after graduating was in hospice care for people in their homes. Over the years, I have met so many patients and their families and have learned so much from every single experience I have had.

Being a nurse in the home provides a completely different level of care and becomes quite personal as you are in the space that people live their daily lives, unlike those who work in hospitals or other facilities where patients remain typically for a short period of time.

Not to say that those who work in facilities provide less personal care and have less compassion, but when you are in the home of a family and their loved one is dying, it becomes a completely new experience as a nurse that you come to find extremely rewarding.

I have cultivated so many relationships with patients and their families through my work, and many of those I keep in contact with today. I am truly honored to take care of these patients at the end of their life. To see them out of this world and into another of peace.

No matter what you believe, there is nothing quite like it. Also providing support for the families who are grieving and being able to take care of their needs so that they can be around their loved ones without worrying about the next steps.

I have had so many fulfilling and life altering experiences over the past six years, I cannot even count how many experiences I remember. Although, there are always cases that stand out to me and have stayed with me over the years.

I have been asked to chronicle these experiences to share with anyone who would like a deeper understanding of the care provided by nurses in the home, and hopefully shed some light on our point of view in these situations. I hope these experiences feel as real to you as you are reading them, as they were to the people who lived them.