One of the most important things working with hospice taught me was my view on death. As said in “Being Mortal”, being a physician or studying in medicine, we often think that it is our responsibility to beat death and overcome it. But death is a part of life and there is no stopping it. Working with the hospice program has changed my perspective in many ways. Before coming on with this program, I had always associated hospice with death and someone being on hospice was a bad thing because that meant they were going to die. I realize now that hospice is something beautiful. Patients aren’t going to suffer with undergoing new or experimental treatments that can make them sicker with only a small percentage that they can beat their disease. Instead, hospice gives patients comfort and love in the months they have left.
Working with my patient made me see how important it is to surround them with love, care, and understanding. I learned that working with hospice patients isn’t a linear progression towards death. Some weeks they are feeling good and talkative and wanting company and other weeks they are feeling so depressed about what is happening, feeling sick. I feel like this up and down movement is one of the hardest parts about working with hospice patients because it almost adds this false hope when they seem to be doing much better after having a bad day the week before. Even through these ups and downs, I am so beyond grateful to have been able to have met my patient. This patient has truly been such an inspirational person for me. No matter how much pain she is in or how much her disease frustrates her, she never fails to put a smile on everyone’s face that walk by, and cracks jokes to make sure I’m laughing. She is truly an amazing person, and I am so blessed to have had this opportunity to meet her and spend time with her.
Something I have also learned that helps my patient with her disease is patience and understanding. Even if I can’t always understand what she is saying, I feel like it is important to make them feel like they are heard. Patience and reassurance help to calm down a frustrated mind, and it also lets the patient know that you are there for them, to listen, to understand and be a shoulder to lean on.
I feel like this experience has helped me to grow stronger mentally and emotionally. As a doctor or anyone who works in the healthcare field, it is important to learn how to manage your emotions in front of the patient, but it is just as important to let out those emotions outside of the workspace and take care of yourself, doing the things you love and making sure to set aside time for yourself. As I continue my journey through the paths leading up to my future medical career, I will learn more how to create this balance, but this hospice program has been my foundational building blocks in this aspect as well in many others.