Throughout the Athena Hospice Program I have been able to learn the intricacies of care taking, how to cope with death, and how to support someone who has experienced a large loss in their life. Since I started the program I was excited for what was to come and what I would learn from this … Continue reading “Journey Through Empathy”
Category: Athena Hospice Program
this is for posts in the category of Athena Hospice
Light in the Darkest of Places: Finding Renewal Within the Pain of Loss
At twenty years of age, I feel fortunate that I have not yet lost someone in the only way in which they will never again walk this beautiful, vibrant, yet often unjust Earth. Nothing compares to that loss; just the same, we often find ourselves in the throes of the grieving process in other areas … Continue reading “Light in the Darkest of Places: Finding Renewal Within the Pain of Loss”
How I’ve Grown
While I have not had the experience of interacting with any Hospice patients yet, I know that I’ve learned a lot just from replying to the prompts and completing the training. Prior to this year, I never gave much thought to dying and the moments leading up to it, but now, I’m aware. I’m aware … Continue reading “How I’ve Grown”
Reflections of a Hospice Volunteer
I am very thankful to have been part of this program. I have learned a lot about end-of-life care and the role of physicians in this field, and I also feel that I have grown as an individual. Before this program, I always assumed that health professionals need to do everything they can to prolong … Continue reading “Reflections of a Hospice Volunteer”
Lessons that I learned from the program
The journey to medicine is often misleading. Medical schools recruit based on grades, research experience, and MCAT scores. This emphasis on scores and science more often than not makes pre-med students overlook other crucial aspects of medicine such as taking care of dying patients. As a premed student, I want to become a doctor and … Continue reading “Lessons that I learned from the program”
A Year Unlike Any Other
This past year truly has been unprecedented as the entire globe and all of its institutions navigated through the COVID-19 pandemic. However, hospice care as well as the elderly might have been the hardest impacted experiences that provide an overall negative outcome. COVID-19 has a particularly high fatality rate for elderly individuals and those who … Continue reading “A Year Unlike Any Other”
The Importance of Hospice Care Experience for Pre-Meds
In the past, I have spent countless hours volunteering in the hospital and working as a medical scribe. I would constantly be surrounded by patients, but have never been able to truly connect with any of these individuals; I would only see them once or twice before they would be discharged. Therefore, when I saw … Continue reading “The Importance of Hospice Care Experience for Pre-Meds”
Learning How to Talk About Grief
When I first met “Janice” and her mother, I instantly connected in a meaningful and emotional way. I was not able to speak with the mother, who was ill, but I did talk to “Janice” quite a lot. She had a lot of things to take care of around the house and was getting stressed … Continue reading “Learning How to Talk About Grief”
To Listen and Not to Hear
The relationships that I have built with my two hospice caretakers, “Fred” and “Susie”, are unique connections that I cannot compare to anything I have experienced before, especially due to the strictly remote element of our interactions. Though our phone calls are devoid of any face-to-face contact, I feel that my conversations with Fred and … Continue reading “To Listen and Not to Hear”
Why We Do This
Though I was unable to visit hospice patients this year in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, I feel that I have grown exponentially as a person and a future health care professional. I thought that I understood death when I applied to the Athena Institute Pre-Med Hospice Volunteer Program, but suddenly the world is … Continue reading “Why We Do This”