A Hospice Nurse can acquire an attachment to patients without difficulty. It is the hospice heart that reaches out to the patient and family and cultivates the bond. Families and patients can equally develop an affection for the hospice nurse. Many families and patients have told me I was like a guardian angel watching over them, being at the bedside for a 13-hour night shift.
During the shift, I am up and keeping an eye on the patient. I am ensuring the patient is comfortable and doesn't need anything. In addition, I am also there for the family as emotional support by being an ear that listens, or arms that hug. Being a Hospice Nurse is not just taking care of a patient, but also taking care of the patient's family. I believe a person shouldn't die alone, and the family shouldn't feel defeated. The family needs to know it is okay for them to feel and react however they feel or react.

A hospice nurse that validates and supports the patient and their family becomes part of the family for the period of hospice care. I always consider my patients and their families as family, and I always treated them that way. This is the foundation of a hospice heart, guardian angle. It is hard for a person to take care of a loved one, and keep their emotions in check. This is why families are grateful for the hospice nurse who treat them like family. Working as a hospice nurse I wasn't allowed to take gifts and such things from families or patients, but I also didn't want to offend patients or their families. They would get upset if I said no, so many times I had dinner or breakfast, coffee, and such with them just like family.

Comfort comes in many forms and is delivered in many ways. Treating the patient and their loved ones like family is a way to comfort them. In addition, it helps the family express what they are feeling. It's very important that the family and the patient feel comfortable expressing their emotions, and it's up to the hospice nurse to validate those emotions, and reactions they have, no matter what they are. It's also up to the Hospice Nurses to comfort them.

The hospice nurse is not the only person that can get very close to another person, the family and patient can become attached to the hospice nurse. An example of this would be a patient I will call Alice, (not the real name to protect the patient and family). Alice was on and off continuous care for a year before she passed away. Continuous care is 24/7 care for a hospice patient. This 24/7 care is for any type of change or crisis the patient develops including the end of life. Alice and her family grew very fond of me and requested I come back to take care of Alice. Every time I showed up they were happy to see me as you would be happy to see a loved one you haven't seen in years or months.

In addition, after I took Alice's vitals and made sure she was dry and comfortable and in no distress or pain, I would sit down to chart for the beginning of the shift. After I started charting in would walk Alice's daughter and granddaughter with a TV tray and dinner and a drink for me, and insist I eat. I was considered family, so after traveling to their house they made sure I had a meal for my long night.

To me being treated like family not only touches my heart but also tells me, I am doing my job properly and doing it extremely well. When individuals don't feel like someone is taking care of them or their family members to their standards they aren't going to treat you like family. They are not going to be nice and will want you to leave and not come back. I have listened to many families and patients complain about other nurses and CNAs.

Patients and families can also develop an attachment to the hospice nurse. The hospice nurse can be a comfort to the family even after the funeral. Some hospice nurses keep in touch with the family years after the patient has passed. It's hard sometimes for hospice nurses to block out their emotions and continue to do their job. In retrospect, it is the emotions that make a hospice heart.

As a hospice nurse being in tuned with your emotions and your surroundings assists when dealing with the strange things and unusual things that are seen and felt. There has been many a night when the atmosphere just felt weird. Times when the room would all of a sudden be cold. Some things go bump in the night and it is usually when there is complete silence.