A Walk In the Valley

A Registered Nurse relates her experiences with death from her first job in a small, rural hospital to various specialties like  Phoenix Childrens Hospital's Broncho Pulmonary Dysplasia unit, a hands on training unit where high risk premature infants with lung disease resided and their parents were trained to care for them, Spinal Cord Rehabilitation where she was called the Death Nurse, and assigned all dying patients and  finally, she was led by Death-to hospice nursing.

The Profession of Hospice nursing requires knowledge of pain and symptom management medications as many physicians consider hospice staff experts in this area. This can be a wonderful thing, an awesome responsibility. Positive practice means the patient can think about their lives and loved ones if the hospice professional has provided a pain and symptom controlled environment and support from the hospice team.

All hospices are not alike! Explore the Hospice Medicare Benefit online. Despite the antiquated pictures hospice is an excellent holistic medical model which honors the patient as the director of care. You do not have to be actively dying to benefit from the hospice program! The tragedy is many people come to hospice too late to enjoy the multi disciplinary support team and medical benefits. A terminal diagnosis is the only requirement.

Enroute to death a person might see or hear from loved ones who have died before them.This is always a reassuring visit, "We are waiting for you."  Logically the person who dies might also appear in audible, visual or electronic form after death. Many people make a Travel Statement prior to death. These and other miracles are revealed within the book.

Find out more about hospice, death and dying and working with this group of people.