In the healthcare profession, we are told that dealing with death is difficult, and will continue to be difficult because losing our patients can make us feel guilty or responsible. It really is strange when you are the caretaker of someone and they just pass away under your care. That was not the most difficult … Continue reading “My Experiences with Hospice”
Author: A Student
My Changing View of Death
4/23/17 Over the course of the eight months that I have been volunteering in the Hospice unit, I have learned a lot, not only about the medical profession but also about myself. Before this experience, death was always a very sad and scary concept to me. Because of my view on death, I liked to … Continue reading “My Changing View of Death”
Vanity
A spider makes its way across the wall in front of me. It, like all living things, will eventually die. Its movements are frantic and irregular. It is limping. One of its legs is missing. I look at it, and it pauses, almost as if it’s waiting for me to kill it. I leave it … Continue reading “Vanity”
The Good in Death
As a young woman with most of my life ahead of me, I have always viewed death as a sad thing. Because I have so many goals, dreams, and expectations, it is a terrible thought to imagine that it all be cut short with an untimely death. I do not want to die anytime soon, … Continue reading “The Good in Death”
Experiences with Hospice
Working in Hospice has made me realize how vital end of life training is within the healthcare system. I realized throughout this program that death is not synonymous with failure; rather, death is an inevitable aspect in every life. However, with proper care and support, death can even hold beauty. Although I do not think … Continue reading “Experiences with Hospice”
My Experience in Hospice
My experience in the hospice program has been something that will stay with me throughout my career and throughout my life. I have had experience with death in my life, but never to this extent. I have had friends pass from drug overdoses and loved ones die peacefully in their sleep, but never within this … Continue reading “My Experience in Hospice”
Be here, while I am here
What is death? What does death mean? Those were both things that before Hospice I had never truly reflected on or wanted to reflect on. But this year when I saw the open volunteer position I decided it was something that I wanted to explore. I wanted to to explore this other aspect of life; … Continue reading “Be here, while I am here”
Making Connections
If you had asked me last October whether I would consider going into geriatric medicine or working exclusively with those who were dying when I became a physician, I would have said no – too depressing. Obviously, the work is valuable and important, but it is more suited for those who would be willing to … Continue reading “Making Connections”
A Reflection on My Time as a Hospice Volunteer
It was over the course of the seven months I spent as a hospice volunteer that I experienced three deaths: my grandmother who I call Didi, my patient Lily, and my piano teacher of 10 years. My Didi passed away in November, the same day that my first patient died. I actually received the news … Continue reading “A Reflection on My Time as a Hospice Volunteer”
Hospice Volunteer
Being a hospice volunteer has been quite the learning experience. From meeting new people to gaining insight into the medical environment that contains the geriatric to realizing the importance of social interactions, this involvement has been full of realizations – both good and bad. Another important piece of the program was the weekly meetings. While … Continue reading “Hospice Volunteer”