Hospice and Palliative Care Career Testimonials

Dawn Britt, RN

Hospice is the reason I am a nurse –

I never envisioned myself as a nurse. Growing up and even into my early adult years, nursing was not a career I aspired to. However, I did participate in HOSA – Health Occupation Students of America – during high school and earned my CNA license. Working as a CNA at a skilled nursing facility, I discovered a passion for caring for the elderly.

Life took me to a new state, where I sought a CNA position. The only available role was at a small-town hospice. From the moment I started, I knew hospice care was my calling. Collaborating daily with nurses, social workers, and chaplains to support patients and their families at the end of life was profoundly rewarding. Each team member brought a unique perspective, and together with the patient and family, we developed comprehensive care plans. The holistic approach of hospice, caring for both patients and their families, was transformative, often working small miracles during life’s most challenging times.

Inspired by the mentorship of hospice nurses, I decided to pursue nursing. Despite the common advice to gain hospital experience first, my heart was set on hospice care. I continued working as a CNA while attending nursing school, and upon graduation, I was fortunate to secure a nursing position with the same hospice agency.

Reflecting on my journey, I sometimes wondered if my lack of hospital experience disadvantaged my patients. However, I realized that hospice nursing requires more than clinical skills. It demands a willingness to collaborate with a multidisciplinary team, an open mind to understand each unique experience with death, and the ability to perceive unspoken needs. It requires courage to ask difficult questions, empathy to share in the grief of patients and families, and the humility to step back when other disciplines can better serve the patient’s needs.

Hospice nursing also involves appreciating the vital role of CNAs, who form deep bonds with patients and act as the eyes and ears for nurses. It requires kindness to deliver difficult news, wisdom to recognize that some things are worse than death, and gratitude for the privilege of supporting individuals during their most vulnerable moments.

I often hear that it takes a special person to work in hospice care, and I believe this to be true. Hospice care is not for everyone, but for those who feel called to it, the rewards are immense. Each day, with the right outlook, you will find that you receive more than you give, enriching both your career and your personal life in countless ways.

Erin Bond, DNP, FNP

As a Hospice Nurse Practitioner, I am involved in some of the most critical moments of a patient and his/her family’s lives. While the end of life process has a natural progression, each patient has unique needs and treatment options. What is most meaningful to me is sitting down and working through this process, hand-in-hand, with the patient and his/her family. There is a realness and absolute vulnerability that comes with these interactions. Family’s crave compassionate honesty and empathetic care. It is a humbling experience to be a part of a team that gets to assure a patient and his/her loved ones receive the comfort and safety they deserve in these moments. There really is nothing like Hospice Care. 

Jaycee Ray, RN, BSN

I went to nursing school with full intentions of being an ICU nurse as I loved the excitement and the complexity of care. Once graduated, I did get my necessary experience and then took a job in CVICU. While I loved the complexity of patients and it was challenging to know how to help with those complexities as a nurse, I found myself struggling with the concept of quality vs quantity of life for those patients that we were caring for. I knew that more times then not, those patients would never live a life like they did before and it was heart breaking. Also watching the end of life moments in the ICU was hard since many of them occurred after CPR or some major life saving event where the families did not get to be right next to their loved ones. I lost my purpose and passion for being a nurse due to feeling like I was just saving lives for them to not truly living after we saved them. That led me to hospice, which I said I would NEVER do, because that was boring and an ‘easy job’. I quickly found I was wrong about all my thoughts in this specialty. My multitude of years in this specialty has lead me to find my passion again. I get to give patients exactly what they want to enjoy the life they have left. They have loved ones around, their pets, and all the things that bring them joy. We get to ask what the patient wants, and the magic that we create to make those lasting memories that are positive at the end of life is something I will never be able to step away from. I became a nurse to be a patient advocate, do what I thought was best, and to make those I care for feel heard and empowered. Hospice is the only nursing role where I truly feel that I can do that every day I work.

For those that may ask, do I miss the critical care and the special skill set from that era? I do not. I find that hospice makes me think even more outside the box and use my strong assessment skills to find what is truly happening at that moment. I have had patients with traches, peg tubes, horrible wounds, all the way to individuals having an active cardiac arrest. I have to get creative with what I have available to support these individuals, which challenges my brain, and I continue to learn how to support those I care for since each visit is significantly different.

Jennifer Terstriep, RN

What I love about working in palliative care and hospice is the difference that I see in patient’s faces and their families, it is a picture of relief and gratefulness that is priceless. The education that we bring to patients and their families is vitally important in the medical journey of a human being’s life. So many individuals either don’t know that hospice care exist and they may also have a negative connotation of what the hospice medical benefit actually is. Our ability as nurses to give that accurate education and what amazing support can be given in the community to patients that are medically eligible for the hospice benefit, is simply amazing and truly there are no words to fully capture the beauty of what Hospice can actually be to a patient and to their family.

Liz Allan

Hospice care allows for deep, meaningful interactions with patients and families.  Hospice Care is Compassionate, amazing and strives to make a difference in the lives of others.  We treat each patient and family with dignity and respect as we educate them and guide them through their end of life journey.  It is an honor and a privilege to be part of the hospice community.

Wendy Hodson

When I first started my nursing career, I never imagined I would become a hospice nurse, but I am so glad I did. I feel as though the majority of people, including health care workers, have a very limited understanding of the whole hospice picture. There is so much more to hospice than death. Often when people find out I am a hospice nurse I get two replies: “Wow you are an angel” followed by “I don’t know how anyone could do that job.” My short answer is, I am able to provide quality nursing care to my patients and families in a very intimate setting. I am allowed to be a part of people’s lives during one of the most delicate times. I am able to connect to humanity on the deepest level on a daily basis. I am able to ensure my patients are able to pass comfortably with dignity. Yes, there is sadness and grief in this line of work, but the kind that can only be brought on by love. Every day I am able to see love in its truest form and there is so much beauty present in end of life care. So, no I am not an angel, I am blessed to be a hospice nurse.