All of the patients I have been assigned have been wonderful experiences – being able to learn more about their lives and just being in the moment with them. However, one patient that did stand out to me was \u201cBryan\u201d. \u201cBryan\u201d wasn\u2019t able to talk but he showed acknowledgement of my presence through subtle body movements. Even though I wasn\u2019t able to learn much about \u201cBryan\u201d, just being in his presence and being able to share the silence with him allowed me to reflect on my own life. He helped me to realize that my work as a hospice volunteer isn\u2019t a one sided relationship, but it is also a transformative experience for me as well. \u201cBryan\u201d would later pass away but I am truly grateful that I was able to share my own life with him and connect in a non-verbal manner.<\/p>\n
After working with my patients, it has made me more emotionally mature, and has provided me with the perspective that illness isn\u2019t something that necessarily has to be viewed as a weakness. They have shown me that you can experience joy even in the mundane things, such as through conversation with one another even in spite of illness. I find that being a hospice volunteer isn\u2019t just me helping the patient, but a reciprocal relationship where both the patient and I exchange experiences and insights with one another. I feel that I am now more open to being vulnerable and more compassionate with other people in my life as a result. It is also an informative experience getting to learn about other people\u2019s perspectives and how their lives unfold in different ways. It has informed me about the different aspects of healthcare, especially the drawbacks (ex. long wait times, lack of attention to patient).<\/p>\n
As for how I would describe the value of this program for medical school applications, I would say that it has given me an informative experience about death. It is a topic a lot of people are afraid to talk about but it is something everyone goes through, especially if you work in the medical field. Thus, it is important to be adequately prepared when death happens, which I\u2019ve experienced with my patients. Although death is usually not an easy experience, I\u2019ve learned to cope with it by cherishing the moments I had with the patient and knowing that I was able to share some good moments with them. Additionally, the program has shaped how I view patients, that they each have complex lives that aren’t reduced by their illness (i.e. they are more than just a sick patient). Finally, I\u2019ve learned to approach patients with an open mind, that there isn\u2019t such things as \u201cthe perfect interaction\u201d. Everyone is different in how they interact with one another and what matters is that both parties are their authentic selves. In this way, organic interactions will develop, which has pleasantly surprised me in that it is usually a positive experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
All of the patients I have been assigned have been wonderful experiences – being able to learn more about their lives and just being in the moment with them. However, one patient that did stand out to me was \u201cBryan\u201d. \u201cBryan\u201d wasn\u2019t able to talk but he showed acknowledgement of my presence through subtle body … Continue reading “Hospice Care: An Experiential and Emotional Journey”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"school":[7],"program_year":[56],"class_list":["post-2631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hospice","school-princeton","program_year-56"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.athenainstitute.com\/ahp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.athenainstitute.com\/ahp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.athenainstitute.com\/ahp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.athenainstitute.com\/ahp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.athenainstitute.com\/ahp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2631"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.athenainstitute.com\/ahp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2773,"href":"https:\/\/www.athenainstitute.com\/ahp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2631\/revisions\/2773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.athenainstitute.com\/ahp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.athenainstitute.com\/ahp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.athenainstitute.com\/ahp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2631"},{"taxonomy":"school","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.athenainstitute.com\/ahp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/school?post=2631"},{"taxonomy":"program_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.athenainstitute.com\/ahp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/program_year?post=2631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}