The Hospice Nursing Podcast

In this episode my good friend, Mike Barrett, returns to the show to share his own story of losing his mother in the last month.

Mike shares with us why he wanted to share this with us so soon after his mother’s death. 

He also goes into detail on how overwhelming everything was. He explains how hard it must be for our patients and their caregivers who have no medical knowledge yet are still expected to make sure difficult decisions....

In this episode I talk about the importance of asking good questions that help our patients and caregivers move forward in their acceptance of an end of life experience.

The questions in this episode are the following…

1. Is what I’m seeing something new?
2. What does the word “hospice” mean to you?
3. What do you hope these appointments will do for you?
4. What do you plan to do when she stops feeding herself?
5. Does he/she seem comfortable to yo...

Welcome to part 2 of the top 10 things I have learned in my first 10 years as a hospice provider!

In this episode I cover items 6-10 of my list.

6. Work/life balance doesn’t happen by accident

7. Hospice is about repeatable and predictable behavior in every department

8. Haloperidol is the best first option to treat terminal restlessness

9. Staff centric agencies build the best foundation for success

10. Hospice is 80% psychosocial….for ...

Welcome to episode 57 of The Hospice Nursing Podcast!

In this episode I start with the top 5 things I have learned in my 10 years of hospice experience.

1. Case management is the foundation of all hospice care
2. Case management success is in the details
3. There is not just one way to do hospice
4. Model the behavior you want to see in others
5. Your current company isn’t as bad as it seems, and the company you want to move to isn’t as great as it...

I’m back from a 6 month break from producing the show!

In this episode I explain why I chose not to record any episodes in the last 6 months. I then review some of the things I learned during a massive growth spurt at my agency.

I review the importance of self care, and I share some of my own personal health issues this year.

I share what I learned about the importance of an orientation program. 

I explain the importance of hospice lea...

In this episode I answer 3 questions from the hospice nurse support group on facebook.
 
 The first question has to do with giving liquid morphine every 6 hours scheduled and PRN morphine every 3 hours PRN.

The second question involves using Tramadol for pain management.

The third question has to do with elevated vital signs for actively dying patients.

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As always, don’t forget to call, t...

In this episode I explore 11 things I learned from my 30 year friendship with Chuck Schroeder.
 
 Chuck Schroeder went to be with Jesus on March 21st 2024. He was a monumental figure in my life. After speaking at his Celebration of Life service, I decided to do a podcast episode sharing what I learned from him.

In this episode I explore the following lessons I learned from Chuck.

1. Plan your work. Work your plan.
2. Never give ...

In this episode I am privileged to interview Barbara Karnes, RN.

Barbara is an award winning end of life educator, award wining nurse, NHPCO Winner 2018 & 2015 International Humanitarian Woman of the Year.

Yeah, she’s a big deal, and she took time out of her busy schedule to spend some time on the show.

To start out the episode, Barbara tells us the story of how she first entered hospice as a volunteer even though she was an RN.

Sh...

In this episode I discuss the three-legged stool that makes up a hospice agency.

The three legs are Sales, Operations and Clinical. If either of these legs is having problems, the stool is at risk to fall down.

I recently had a listener ask me to discuss the differences between office staff and field staff. She asked the following question.

I am wondering if you have already completed a podcast on the differences...

For this episode I decided to share a recent interview I did for the Nurse Keith podcast.

It was a great time to share with Keith’s audience some of my observations from the world of hospice. I believe this was a great opportunity to share hospice with a whole new audience.

Take a minute to visit Keith’s web site, and throw some support his way!

https://nursekeith.com/

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As always, don’t forge...

In this episode I answer a listener email question regarding death visits.

No two death visits are alike, so in this episode I try to cover some of the basics. 

I cover some of the following topics.

1. Call the funeral home as quickly as possible
2. It’s not about you
3. Don’t always be in a hurry to interject yourself
4. Be sensitive to other cultures
5. To stay or not to stay
6. Post mortem care
7. Clothig

Then I finish the episode telling several sto...

In this episode I answer the following question from a listener.

Hi, any chance of getting a podcast on Service Failures?  I've been in hospice for around two years.  I hear the term thrown around, but can't quite grasp all the details.  I don't see any podcasts or blog posts around this subject, but I suspect the knowledge would be quite valuable.

Thanks,

Jade

I answer Jade’s question in two parts. I...

In this episode I focus on the top 6 concepts I believe are essential to promoting the growth of a hospice office.

Ultimately, the administrator is responsible for creating an environment for success. Any administrator who wants to blame others for lack of success, is an administrator nobody wants to follow.

Here is the list of items I focus on during this episode.

1. Foster healthy relationships between sales and clinical
2. Take owners...

In this episode I review my strategies when I have family members who are afraid to tell their loved one that hospice is being consulted for care.

I spend some time helping you understand the real difference between patients who can understand what they are being signed up for versus patients who are confused and can’t understand the decisions being made for them.

I talk about using my Clinical Data Sheet during conversatio...

Welcome to 2024!

For today’s episode I decided to present you with 3 things I feel like every hospice nurse needs to find success and peace of mind!

In this episode I review the importance of making sure we pull into our driveways at the end of the day with all of our work completed.

I point out the importance of making sure all of our charting is done at the bedside. I review some of the differences between a visit nurse an...

This episode is all about leadership.

Everyone in hospice is a leader, and being a leader is completely different than being a boss. 

In this episode I provide some practical advice to help make sure we never lose our perspective on what our nurses go through every day. I encourage administrators and clinical directors to do ride alongs with a field nurse at least twice a year. 

I spend quite a bit of tim...

In this episode I perform (if you want to call it that) dramatic readings of 11 posts from my blog.

You can view and read the blog posts from the following links.

The Last Bath

The Last Prayer

Hospice Is Like Haircuts?

Be Like Aunt Joyce

My Friends Keep Dying

A Night at the Park

The Last Kiss

The Guardian

I Remember Angie

Whatever You Say, James

It’s Okay To Die On Thanksgiving

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As always, don’t forget to call,...

For this episode I take one of my coaching sessions from inside The Hospice Nursing Community and bring it to the show.

This is something I have ever done before. In general, I like to make sure content inside of The Hospice Nursing Community is unique and cannot be found anywhere else.

In this episode, I review 8 different characteristics that I believe are essential for a successful case manager to possess.

1. Reliab...

In this episode I answer the following question from May. May has been charged with a hospice startup.

“I always strive to maintain the values of empathy and fairness, and I am committed to being an unwavering advocate for our team and our patients. Currently, we've encountered challenges with documentation using Matrix Care. The process has proven to be time-consuming, and I am reaching out to see if you have insight...