School: Swarthmore

In the past, I have spent countless hours volunteering in the hospital and working as a medical scribe. I would constantly be surrounded by patients, but have never been able to truly connect with any of these individuals; I would only see them once or twice before they would be discharged. Therefore, when I saw … Continue reading “The Importance of Hospice Care Experience for Pre-Meds”

Before becoming a Hospice volunteer, I had just recently begun thinking more critically about my ingrained assumptions surrounding end of life care and death. An anthropology course I took in the spring of 2020, titled “Culture, Health and Illness”, made my beliefs more visible as it discussed many of the ways that biomedicine focuses on … Continue reading “Impact of compassion in treating the patient over the disease”

Over the past 7 months, I have experienced an entirely new side of medicine and healthcare. Through the connections I formed with my hospice patient, as well as group discussions and reflections throughout this period, I have gained invaluable experience and insight that has allowed me to develop my professional and personal skills. Moreover, my … Continue reading “To New Experiences”

Working as a hospice volunteer this year was an unconventional experience. As I struggled to recalibrate to online classes, and to a summer and many semesters alone at home, I spent a period of time leaving this line of work to the wayside. During this past summer, I decided to reach out to a program … Continue reading “Connection in Loneliness”

Dealing with the mundane stress of the COVID-19 pandemic has been quite exhausting: academically, emotionally, spiritually. In these times of prolonged isolation, I am constantly reminded of the importance of human connection, something we have all been greatly deprived of over the past year. While I did not get the chance to build patient relationships … Continue reading “To be interpersonal requires acknowledgement of body, mind, and spirit.”

I only had one patient relationship throughout the year before it got cut short by the COVID pandemic. I met Jane early in the fall on my first visit with my volunteer coordinator, and she was a tough cookie. At 105 years old, she was full of life. Jane had one close family member remaining … Continue reading “The Power of Companionship and the Impact of Meaningful Patient Care”

Since starting the program, I have not had all too many opportunities to visit Plush Mills Senior Living, and the visitations have been unfortunately cut short due to the ongoing pandemic. However, in the limited time that I was able to come spend at Plush Mills, I have cherished my time with Sue. A lovely … Continue reading “More than a Stepping Stone”

Through my training and firsthand experience as a hospice volunteer, I have a newfound perspective on life, death, and what patients really need in their last moments. There are many aspects of end-of-life care that I have learned about, but none resonate with me more than the idea of understanding death as inevitable and necessary … Continue reading “The Inevitability of Death and the Beauty of Life”

The time that I have spent volunteering with this program has changed my perspective on both life and death in so many ways. From the conversations I’ve had with my peers at our reflection meetings to the time I spent visiting my patients, I have learned so much about how the people around me view … Continue reading “Embracing Death”

I wasn’t entirely sure how much I would or would not enjoy volunteering for hospice prior to doing so this academic year. I expected to gain new experiences connecting with older patients nearing the end of life, bed-side manners, and overall ways of managing topics surrounding death. I was pleasantly surprised that there was actually … Continue reading “The Content Mother”