Over the course of this hospice program, I have found that hospice care offers a unique perspective on life and the importance of human connection. While hospice is often associated with death and grief, I have found that it is also a space full of love and hope. Through spending time with those nearing the … Continue reading “The Profound Impacts of Hospice Volunteering”
Author: A Student
Learning to comfort the discomforted
Understanding something conceptually is often very different from experiencing it in reality. In medicine, it is possible to study the physiological stages of dying, learn to recognize the clinical signs of decline, and understand the general emotional patterns patients may experience near the end of life. This knowledge provides an important framework, but it does … Continue reading “Learning to comfort the discomforted”
Learning Football with Gary
My relationship with “Gary” was very casual. We would watch Saturday college football, and while I didn’t know much about football, I let “Gary” talk about the game and his favorite team, Penn State, because I could tell how much he liked talking about it. His family rarely watched football, so I like to think … Continue reading “Learning Football with Gary”
Hearing and Acknowledging Lifelong Pain to Provide Comfort and Dignity
Through my experiences with Athena, my impression of the purpose of hospice care transformed. I had seen it before as a place to just maintain bodies until their death, a place to abandon and forget the elderly. However, I have come to see these institutions as a place to ease patients through an uncomfortable process … Continue reading “Hearing and Acknowledging Lifelong Pain to Provide Comfort and Dignity”
The Human Side of Care
The patient that has stood out to me the most through the program has been “John.” We had a friendly relationship, and I looked forward to meeting with him each week. He was always happy about his wife and family coming in. We would talk about many aspects of life – family, memories, football, and … Continue reading “The Human Side of Care”
Presence of LOVE in care
The spark of a thousand neurons interconnected creates what we know as “love.” Although it’s rooted in biology, love often transcends time itself, enduring hardship, illness and fading memory. To love and be loved is an essential part of being human. Through circumstances where is most appearance and words matter less, emotion becomes most valued. … Continue reading “Presence of LOVE in care”
My Experience Volunteering in Hospice for 1 Year
My patient, “Phillip,” was a veteran who was dedicated to his family and had a great sense of humor. He didn’t always like to talk but he loved to hear about everything happening in my life, and just sit in silence with me or watch TV like Judge Judy together. I would say we had … Continue reading “My Experience Volunteering in Hospice for 1 Year”
My Hospice Experience
At the end of the fall semester last year a patient who we’ve been with for over a year passed away. At first it was hard because we were close to her and her family. After she passed we were given another patient who ended up passing around one to two weeks after we met … Continue reading “My Hospice Experience”
Meeting Patients Where They Are
I began volunteering in hospice to become more comfortable with a topic that once felt distant to me: death. As a pre-medical student, I knew caring for patients at the end of life would be part of medicine, yet I had never experienced the death of someone close to me. What began as an effort … Continue reading “Meeting Patients Where They Are”
Hospice volunteering gave me a new outlook on patient care, aging, and life
Participating in the ANOVA program has been an invaluable experience for me because it has provided me with the opportunity to interact with patients in a way that I never have before. While many premeds may have clinical jobs where they are doing routine patient care, we often don’t get to build emotional connections with … Continue reading “Hospice volunteering gave me a new outlook on patient care, aging, and life”