Experiencing Palliative Care

Total Service Hours: 8

November Service Hours: 8

A new development in my career goals is that I have decided that medical school is not for me. Based on my experiences working as a tech in the ER, I feel that nursing is going to be a much better fit for me. I have experienced that nurses get to have more patient contact and often times catch things that medical doctors may miss in the patient's care. I plan to apply to an accelerated nursing program following the completion of my master's degree at Tulane. Last blog, I expressed a desire to volunteer with St. Joseph Hospice in Baton Rouge, LA. I got to volunteer with St. Josephs this past month and experience the beauty that comes with working in palliative care. Most people have a strong fear surrounding death, but for the nurses of St. Joseph's death is just a part of their everyday jobs. When I asked some nurses how they dealt with losing patients so frequently or even how they deal with getting new patients knowing that they are knocking on death's door, most of them relied on some aspect of faith to help them get through each day. St. Joseph Hospice is a Catholic organization that is named after St. Joseph who is the patron saint of peaceful deaths. The mission at St. Josephs is to “provide peace, comfort, and support to those with life ending illnesses.” I got to participate in this mission statement by providing comfort and emotional support to patients and patient's family members, help with administrative tasks, and assist with community event planning. I have only volunteered 8 hours with St. Josephs in November, but I was able to participate in each part of the above-mentioned tasks. The most difficult part of volunteering at St. Josephs was sitting with patients who were essentially abandoned or forgotten by their family members. It was tremendously disheartening and sad to see that some patients did not have any visitors or callers checking in on them. It was so moving for me to be able to sit and pray with these patients who did not have anyone to sit and hold their hand. It seemed to me that the majority of the other volunteers primarily sat with patients when family members were away or unavailable to be at bedside. I am looking forward to volunteering more with St. Joseph Hospice in the month of December. The environment and pace at St. Joseph is very different than the ER hospital setting that I work in on almost a daily basis. Between the volunteers and the staff members, St. Joseph is able to maintain a peaceful and calm environment for everyone who enters its doors. I will talk more about my experiences at St. Joseph Hospice in the next Blog!