As our Support our Nurses campaign gets into the second week, we spoke to one of our Hospice nurses, Carole, to find out about the day in the life of a Hospice Nurse.
Can you explain what a day in the life of a South Buckinghamshire Community Hospice Palliative Care nurse is like?
"Every day is different. When I arrive in the morning, I never know what my day is going to look like.
I am constantly on the go making sure the Hospice is running exactly how it should, and patients have all they need, whilst maintaining an atmosphere of calm and serenity."
What happens in a meeting between you and a patient?
"When a patient comes into the Hospice, they can sit and relax over a cup of tea and biscuits. This is when they have the opportunity to talk freely and offload everything that has happened since their last visit. This can sometimes be the most important part of their day and I make certain I spend time with every patient discussing their worries, concerns, medication, hospital appointments or family matters. It is also an opportunity for me to make sure they are receiving the appropriate care from the hospice.”
"Throughout the day I am supported by Healthcare Assistants, and our wonderful volunteers. Patients can participate in art or music therapies, or receive one of our many complementary therapies. Our Healthcare Assistants are able to bath patients should they so wish, wash and style hair, we can also provide finger and toe nail cutting, manicures and pedicures. So it can be a very busy place! Patients enjoy a tasty cooked meal at lunchtime, joined by staff and volunteers. Often whole afternoons can be spent dealing with one specific problem that a patient has spoken to me about during the morning. Hopefully, the patient can go home knowing their worries have been resolved, or if not if this hasn’t been possible, I will make sure to call them back the next day to talk through any changes or progressions."
Other than your Hospice nurse duties, what else does your work involve?
"I have so many hats to wear as a Hospice nurse; today I have had to wear my nurse’s hat, my plumber’s hat, my health and safety hat and my admin hat - and this was all before seeing a patient. Never a day goes by when I'm just being a nurse which I love!”
From phone calls inquiring about Hospice support groups, or speaking to a bereaved relative, right through to making sure that the biscuits haven’t run out, from the moment a Hospice nurse steps through the door, we have hundreds of hats to wear and tasks to do."
Here is a photo of Carole reflecting on a busy day and getting ready to do it all again tomorrow.
