My first visit to a hospice facility was at a well-funded center filled with attentive staff, decorations on the wall, and patients in common rooms laughing and talking. The air was filled with joy and could have been mistaken for a hotel at first glance. Every patient had their own room filled with personal belongings … Continue reading “Finding Color”
The choosing when there are no options.
My patient, “P”, was an elderly woman with highly advanced dementia, a high level of hearing loss and limited mobility. She was well loved by her children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren, most of whom lived nearby and were able to visit on a regular basis. When I first met her, her daughter in law … Continue reading “The choosing when there are no options.”
A Complete Life
Many of my patients have limited communication abilities and/or have experienced a decline in their cognitive abilities which impacts their communications. One of my patients has severe dementia and is unable to discern who I am or why I am there to visit with her, but she is always cheerful and excited to see me. … Continue reading “A Complete Life”
Lessons I’ve Learned from My First Year as a Hospice Volunteer
Throughout my experience in the Pre-Med Hospice Program, I was fortunate to form a bond with a patient whom I’ll refer to as Mrs. Anderson. Mrs. Anderson’s journey through life’s final chapters served as a poignant reminder of the intrinsic beauty and fragility of human existence. In the heart of the hospice setting, amid the … Continue reading “Lessons I’ve Learned from My First Year as a Hospice Volunteer”
Journeys of Compassion: Reflections on Hospice Volunteering
The patient who I was visiting during the fall of 2023, whom we will call “Sue”, was an elderly woman in her late seventies. She had just been diagnosed with brain cancer not too long before being put on hospice. The cancer was affecting her ability to hear and she was constantly very fatigued. She … Continue reading “Journeys of Compassion: Reflections on Hospice Volunteering”
Beyond Life
The patient (named “Sophie” in this essay for anonymity) and I have become quite close over the past weeks. Initially, “Sophie” was reluctant to speak but as days passed by, she started opening up and our conversations became lengthier. As she grew cognizant of my presence and my weekly visits, I felt the nature of … Continue reading “Beyond Life”
Hospice Volunteering: Meeting Patients Where They’re At
My time as a hospice volunteer has been a transformative, impactful and overall fulfilling experience. During the school year I was assigned to two patients: the first being “Emma” and the latter “Janeen”, both of which provided me drastically different experiences. Emma was chatty, sarcastic, and incredibly hilarious. I recall being nervous before my first … Continue reading “Hospice Volunteering: Meeting Patients Where They’re At”
Seeing Beyond the Cure
Seeing Beyond the Cure One of the main questions I had when starting out in the Athena Hospice program was do I have what it takes to make a good hospice volunteer? I started my visits and set out to figure out which characteristics would best equip someone to be a great hospice volunteer. I … Continue reading “Seeing Beyond the Cure”
Centering the Patient: Making a Difference as a Hospice Volunteer
As many of the first prompts noted, death was never an aspect that I had considered when I decided to be a pre-med student freshman year of college. When the opportunity came to become a volunteer in a hospice, I was reluctant to apply: What if a patient brought up death during a visit? How … Continue reading “Centering the Patient: Making a Difference as a Hospice Volunteer”
Hospice Volunteer Learning Experience
This experience was very valuable in helping me learn more about the medical system and how senior care is implemented. More importantly, in my opinion, this experience taught me more about how people view death and how having relationships, however brief, are so important to a meaningful existence. Over 6 to 7 months, I met … Continue reading “Hospice Volunteer Learning Experience”