Hospice Nurse – A Calling

As I started my application today for a step up job at work, (a challenge I might add!), I felt the urge to just write. Write about my passion for nursing people who are facing one of the most challenging transitions of their lives. It’s a passion. A passion to provide a person with compassionate, present and gentle care right to the very end. A passion to respect the journey of Life in its fullness all the way. Nursing care provides an opportunity to be present to another person’s most intimate life experience.

Similar to birthing, dying and all the moments that lead us to it are profound opportunities to open us even more to the preciousness of life and relationships. Maybe it looks like we are just administering a medication, or emptying a catheter bag or moving a patient to make them more comfortable. These are the physical activities of nursing care, and very important. But there is so much more going on under the surface. In the field of awareness that encompasses us all, I consider it my deepest calling to be present with a person as they take their final life journey however long that is. In the field of awareness where everything is connected and nothing real can be taken away, I stay. I endeavour to remember this every time I minister nursing care to a patient or their family.

In many ways nursing for me is a spiritual practice. The practice of remembering. The practice of trust. You see, I believe that Life loves us completely and unconditionally. I believe that while death is a change in state, nothing of value can ever be lost. I truly believe this and I’m grateful I do, simply because it gives me the ability to enjoy Life to the fullest. My belief is not a religion. It’s something I’ve arrived at through my own experience. I’ve lost and grieved a dear loved one. I’ve faced the worst pain of deep grief, so I understand how hard it is for families facing the loss of someone they love. But what I’ve learned is that Love is the unseen energy that binds us and can never be lost.

Knowing this allows me to meet each patient or family member with understanding for the depth of the journey they are undergoing. It is a sacred and precious journey in which there are many chances for healing. Opportunities to let go of the unnecessary, and embrace a more authentic self as the unimportant drops away. The physical practice of providing excellent nursing care forms the backdrop. The other more subtle but no less important practice is to be there, holding space, providing a calm and reassuring presence that without words can assist a patient to remember who they are beyond their disease and accept the sacred journey they are on.

Dying is not an easy process, but similar to Birthing, we can make it a more peaceful and even inspiring journey when we face it with awareness. It’s raw and can sometimes be messy. It’s not easy to let go and change and what a change it is! My purpose as a Hospice Nurse is to support the patient and their families to make the change as smoothly and gently as possible. To allow space for Love to arise, relationships to be healed, anxieties and worries to be transformed. I love my work. It brings out the best in me.

People often ask me, ‘How can you do this’? It must be so sad and hard. It’s not like that when you’re on the side of service. Whilst every death is poignant because a human being has moved on, hospice nurses make it ok to go when the time is right. And the time is right when the person goes.

There is no wrong. It’s how it is and it’s beautiful.