School: Bucknell

Through the Athena Hospice Volunteer Program, I was fortunate to spend meaningful time with two patients. The first was a patient suffering from cardiac and neurological complications, who shared inspirational experiences with me. She expressed how, in her early life, she pursued higher education and became the first occupational therapist at her hospital. After settling … Continue reading “Mortality & Morality: My Hospice Volunteerism Experience”

Through my experience as a Hospice volunteer over the past year, I have connected with my patients, grown in my understanding of what patient care truly means, and I recognize myself as a more well-rounded pre-medical student. I have been seeing my current patient since August of last year and have grown quite fond of … Continue reading “How Hospice Changed My Understanding of Patient Care”

Engaging in the Athena Pre-Med Hospice Volunteering Program has been an incredibly humbling and eye-opening experience that has helped shape the way I view patient care. Working with hospice patients has both confirmed my desire to go into medicine and shown me some of the emotional challenges that come along with caring for the sick … Continue reading “A New Perspective: My Growth & Experience as A Hospice Volunteer”

I knew long ago that I wanted to pursue a career in medicine, but my initial understanding of what such a career would entail was, in retrospect, incredibly lacking. While I had a basic understanding of what end-of-life care might involve in the practical sense, I did not know what it would look like. For … Continue reading “Quiet Moments and Retrospection”

When I first walked into a hospice facility, I expected something somber and static. I expected to find a place where the air felt thick and grief surrounded me. What I found instead, in the form of a 99-year-old woman named “LC”, was a profound lesson in the art of being present, and a reaffirmation … Continue reading “Hospice: The Other Side of Medicine”

Having a meaningful Hospice patient relationship has similarities to being a good physician, because of the kindness and compassion needed to provide the best care for their patients and to provide them and their family comfort regardless of the situation. It’s important to have a good balance of compassion as you always want to care … Continue reading “Final Reflection and Thoughts”

Due to various scheduling issues, I have only been able to meet my patient once, however I still gained a lot from it and believe it has granted me an incredible life lesson regarding the patience, care, and kindness that goes into caring for end-of-life patients. My patient is a cancer patient at Geisinger. She … Continue reading “My Athena Experience- Understanding Grief and End-of-Life Care”

I went into this program knowing that it would be hard. While I have elderly relatives, I had very little experience working in a hospice environment. I was scared of the challenge of building a relationship with someone who was near the end of their life and knowing that there would be a time when … Continue reading “Learning to Connect”

Over the past 8 months, I have not only grown as a student in the medical field but as a citizen of the world. The Athena Institute Pre-Med Hospice program opened my eyes in terms of viewing patients and caregivers in the real-world, not just what you hear on the news and from others. Medicine … Continue reading “The Story of Our Lives”

The Athena Institute Hospice program has been a transformative experience for a better understanding of patient care and becoming a pillar of support. Before the Hospice program, my idea of patient care was simply to just provide the patient with basic physical needs, but that could not have been further from the truth. The beginning … Continue reading “Listen”