In my experience volunteering with Hospice, I have seen a lot of good come of it. I think that the patient that I was lucky enough to spend time with was not the only one that gained something from our time together. I gained more than I think my patient will ever be able to understand. I was able to connect with my patient in a way that I didn’t know was possible. We were both able to gain something from each other and the process as a whole. We were able to immediately connect with each other and talk as if we had been friends for years. I was comfortable asking questions as they were able to ask me personal questions along the way. I was told stories of their childhood and about friends that they had met throughout their life’s journey. I learned about their experiences and about the choices that they made to get to where they wanted to be. I learned about their family life from when they were a child and who they have in their life now. I was able to connect with them on many different levels and we were able to draw similarities between our lives even though we are in very different stages. All of this brought us closer together and more comfortable throughout our time.
I am currently meeting with my patient once a week on Fridays which is a great conclusion to my week. I look forward to going and learning more about my patient as well as myself every time. I am going to truly miss our meetings once I graduate relatively soon. I hope that my patient will gain a new companion and will be able to connect with them the way that I was able to connect with them.
Working with Hospice has shown me another side of the medical field that I was unknowledgeable about before this experience. I was aware of the program because my grandpa was helped by the organization years ago, but I didn’t know the full extent of what goes into the process. I knew that there were nurses for their patients, but I didn’t know that there were people that had the role of just being a companion and being company for the patient. My family was always able to be with my grandpa, so I didn’t see this side, but I find it as important as the nurse’s role. People need medical attention, but they also need a human relationship to keep their spirits up through the entirety of the process.
I will take what I gained from this experience with me for the rest of my life and I hope that our time together will be cherished by my patient as well. I have learned that there is more to life than just continually moving forward and onto the next thing. It is good to sit in the here and now and truly cherish what you are experiencing at the moment.