It is hard to summarize what I have learned through this incredible program in a few words because the knowledge I have gained is vast and vital to my future as a physician. Most notably, I feel one of the most valuable lessons I learned was the reality of hospice. Society carries the false narrative … Continue reading “The Beauty in Hospice Care”
Program Year Ending: 2021
Program Year ending 2021
Crafting Meaningful Relationships in a Medical Career
When I began my time in the pre-med hospice program, I was coming off of three months of working as a nursing assistant in a woefully understaffed nursing home, made worse by the constant rate of employee turnover due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While I found this job satisfying because it gave me the chance … Continue reading “Crafting Meaningful Relationships in a Medical Career”
Listen First
When I joined the Athena Institute Hospice Volunteer Program, I will admit I was nervous. I had no experience with hospice, no idea how to talk to someone on hospice, and no real understanding of what hospice actually is. I soon came to recognize that the program itself is not really about hospice, but about … Continue reading “Listen First”
The Pathway to Death is Not Road To Failure
My first encounter with the Hospice Volunteer Program started with a topic relating to the first fear and anxiety that all doctors have: unable to fix a medical problem. As an individual who is interested in pursuing a career in healthcare, I have the same stereotypical thought that doctors are supposed to “fix problems” and … Continue reading “The Pathway to Death is Not Road To Failure”
Hospice Volunteering: A Year of Growth and Development
I am incredibly grateful to have participated in this program. My experiences with the patients that I visited have fostered my development of two crucial traits: empathy and compassion. I quickly learned that as a volunteer, my job was to assess what the patient needs at that moment of that particular day. Empathy was essential … Continue reading “Hospice Volunteering: A Year of Growth and Development”
Learning to Heal
Over the past year, I have had the pleasure of interacting with a couple of patients and their families in the Hospice program. Of all the meaningful conversations I had, I will never forget one family member. For privacy reasons, I will refer to him as “Ben” in this paper. “Ben’s” wife had ovarian cancer … Continue reading “Learning to Heal”
Hospice to Occupational Therapy- Putting People at the Center
I have developed the most meaningful relationship with the third person I was paired with in the Hospice volunteer program. When we first met over the phone in the fall, her mom was on hospice, but even since her mom passed away around Christmas time, we have continued to talk every week. With each call … Continue reading “Hospice to Occupational Therapy- Putting People at the Center”
Life Lessons at the End-of-Life
Undoubtedly, there is a general fear and discomfort surrounding death. People are quick to ask why I would ever want to volunteer to visit hospice patients instead of choosing something more uplifting. The answer is simple: The patients I’ve met are more than diagnoses and life expectancy calculations. My experience with hospice has taught me that … Continue reading “Life Lessons at the End-of-Life”
To be interpersonal requires acknowledgement of body, mind, and spirit.
Dealing with the mundane stress of the COVID-19 pandemic has been quite exhausting: academically, emotionally, spiritually. In these times of prolonged isolation, I am constantly reminded of the importance of human connection, something we have all been greatly deprived of over the past year. While I did not get the chance to build patient relationships … Continue reading “To be interpersonal requires acknowledgement of body, mind, and spirit.”
Death and Dying: What did I learn?
After completing the 2021 Pre-Med hospice program, I would like to emphasize how important this program is not only to our medical school applications, but to our personal perspectives and experience with death. This program provides the unique opportunity for students to develop a stronger understanding and more peaceful relationship with palliative care and death. … Continue reading “Death and Dying: What did I learn?”