School: Bryn Mawr

My journey doesn’t end here. Although I have not received a patient and didn’t have the opportunity to interact with a patient, I feel as though I learned so much and grew a lot when it came to topics surrounding death and grief. Death. When someone you’ve known dies, and that person was so close … Continue reading “Grief never stops.”

Growing up, I have visited many care centers for the elderly. Not all of them have been hospice, and not all of them have been for family members. My mom trained our first dog as a therapy dog, and we would go with her on her visits as our golden retriever brightened up the days … Continue reading “The beauty of Forgetting”

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”

The patient who stood out the most to me was this lady who had heart disease. Our conversations were never in a good logical flow, nor did they deepen our liaisons since she forgot who I am the moment I left the room. However, I personally found our interactions to be clear hints of her … Continue reading “Death does not only accompany sorrow but also reminiscence.”

During my time in the hospice volunteer program, I developed a meaningful relationship with a patient I will call “Mary.” “Mary” lived with severe dementia that significantly affected her ability to communicate. Her speech often came out as a stream of disconnected words and phrases that did not form clear sentences. When I first met … Continue reading “Presence Beyond Words”

During my time volunteering in hospice, I had the opportunity to spend several weeks with a patient living with dementia. From the first time I met her, she always greeted me with a faint but warm smile. It felt as if she recognized me and was happy that I had come to see her. That … Continue reading “What my patient taught me”

In my experience with this volunteer program, I have had the pleasure to meet three different patients. The first was a woman with Dementia who only spoke Korean. This meant we communicated instead in smiles, laughs, and gestures. She taught me that joy and connection doesn’t have a language. The second was another woman with … Continue reading “A Reflection on Three Women”

An old friend who I had never actually met. This is how I’d describe my hospice patient, whom I’ll call “Arthur,” from our very first meeting. I began my volunteer work with a mix of nervousness and excitement. I grasped the ideology of hospice—providing comfort, control, and safety during the end-of-life process—but translating that into … Continue reading “Growth Through Connection”

I chose to volunteer with the Athena Hospice Program because it offered a unique opportunity to gain a better understanding of patient care outside of an acute clinical setting. Through this program, I’ve come to appreciate how healthcare extends beyond prescribing medication and treatments. It includes offering palliative care and companionship support as people approach … Continue reading “Being a companionship volunteer helped me further develop soft skills that are essential for my journey in medicine.”

Through this wonderful journey as a Hospice volunteer, I have cultivated a memorable bond with my patient, “Michelle”. While visiting her over fifteen times in these past two semesters, I have developed a deep bond with “Michelle”. Whenever I visit her, I am constantly amazed by her passion and determination to talk, make friends, and … Continue reading “The Life-Changing Impact of Hospice Volunteering”