The Different Roles Of Hospice Nurses
Hospice nurses are an important part of the hospice care team. From the early stage of admission to the final stage of life, these compassionate caretakers play various roles in improving overall quality of patient’s life. Hospice care can be taken in the home, the hospital, a living facility, or a nursing home. So, when you choose a hospice for a loved one, understanding their roles becomes important.
Lancaster hospice care services have curated this listicle to explain what hospice nurses do and their different roles. Continue reading!
What are the major roles and Responsibilities of Hospice Nurses?
The work of a hospice nurse goes beyond physical care. In addition to the medical support, they provide social and emotional comfort to the patient and their family. Their presence, calming and supportive act ensures that patients remain happy during their last days.
Direct care
Hospice nurses spend most of their time around the patient, ensuring they are pain-free and comfortable. A large part of their job is to give medications and injections timely, check their vitals, and note if there is any change in their routine. They document everything and report to the doctors, so that doctors can stay aware of the current medication of the patient and accordingly provide the treatment.
Emotional Support
Hospice nurses spend most of their day with the patient. This develops an emotional connection between the patient and the nurse. Over time they become a trusted confidant of the patient and give them emotional support. Their love and support make patients’ end moments happy and comfortable.
Psychosocial Support to the Patient’s Family
Accepting that your loved one is living their last days is difficult for people, and they need someone to confide in their emotions. A hospice nurse’s job also includes giving emotional and personal support to the patient’s family. Hospice nurses are compassionate and empathetic as they bring a sense of social connection and belonging.
Improve life Quality of Patient
Hospice nurses plan patients’ routines, ensuring they get their meals, medicines, injections, and some physical movement throughout the day. With their efforts, they improve the quality of life of patient. As they bond with the patient, they (patient) become comfortable with the nurse and trust their routine. With mutual efforts, both work to make the patient’s last days comfortable and pain-free.
What are the different types of Hospice Nurses?
As we understood above, the job roles of hospice nurses are many. The best hospice services in San Fernando Valley explain that there are different nurses for different roles.
Admission Nurse
The intake admission nurse examines patients’ needs and sees their urgency for hospice care. They then talk to the patient’s physician before accepting the patient into the program. Before you begin with hospice services, the admission nurse checks your vitals, medical history, and talks to the family to explain the process and details of the Lancaster hospice care services program. It is also the role of the admission nurse to coordinate with the patient’s physician, dietician, therapist, and other team members during the program.
Case Manager
The case manager is responsible for managing the program and dealing with the patient’s physical needs. They’ll ensure that medicines are available, change catheters, administer injections, etc.
Working closely with the team members, they set out the patient’s routine and ensure they follow it.
Visit Nurse
The visit nurse comes into the picture when the case manager is absent or if you’re taking hospice care in a hospital where you require a visiting nurse for your routine needs. Their job is ideally to administer injections, change dressings, etc.
Triage Nurse
The triage nurse is the on-call nurse in an emergency or if the case manager is not there. They access the symptoms on the call, talk to the physician and help you in need. They even notify the case manager if the case is serious.
Hospital Liaisons
Hospitals seeking to give their patients the best care often tie up with several hospice care facilities. So, when they realize their patient is near the end of life, they refer them to hospice.
Hospital liaisons maintain smooth communication between the two. They maintain relationships between them. In addition, they also talk to the patient’s family about choosing a hospice.
Final Words
Understanding what their nurses do is important if you’re looking out for hospice care. It’s because you’ll spend most of your time with or around them. Hope this guide helps you.
