The Hospice Nursing Podcast

In this episode I start a series explaining my strategies for orientating new nurses. I read an email from listener Holly and how I got my inspiration for this series from her. I also read an email from Kelly that I received the day before recording this episode and how it ties in quite nicely. Here are a few of my main points. While in orientation the new nurse should aways ride with everyone. No...

In this episode I have the distinct pleasure of interviewing Tania. She has over a decade of weekend on-call experience. This interview is filled to the brim with practical advice for success with your on-call visits. Tania shares with us how she ended up becoming a hospice on-call nurse and how it works for her family. We address the 7 following subjects: Establish why you are making the visit wi...

In this episode I share why it has been exactly one month since I published my last episode. I also explain why it might be a few more weeks before my next episode. Most of this episode was shared without extensive notes and just an outline. The outline was 3 simple points. Turn off your phone Don’t have favorites it’s not about you (or me) I recommend 2 books with one of the books also available...

During this episode I read a portion of an email I received from a listener when I asked her if she had any questions I could build a show around. In that email she asks me what my sacred activity is. After much thought, I have decided to share my sacred activity during this episode. The truth is that I am completely incapable of doing this complex and emotional work under my own power. This work...

In this episode we interview Kris, who is the creator and administrator of the Hospice Nursing Support Group on Facebook. Kris shares some very interesting statistics regarding this group. We also review a few of the group rules to help provide some context for present and future members. Kris shares her experience with another Facebook group and how she helped that group be more successful. Towar...

For todays episode we discuss several ideas that will help us be more likely to happen to our days and weeks instead of our days and weeks happening to us. We discuss the importance of having a new schedule every week. I am offering a free copy of the spreadsheet I have created to manage my caseload. You can visit the download page HERE . Please email me at james@confessionsofahospicenurse.net if...

For today’s show I discuss my own challenges with my hero complex, and how we can all get away from trying to be the hero in someone else’s story. Click HERE to read the Avoiding Hospice Burnout series. It is completely natural to become a central figure in the life of our dying patients and their family members. We have a lot of knowledge to share, and we have a lot of solutions to common problem...

In episode four of The Hospice Nursing Podcast we deviate from the burnout series and highlight some insights I learned at a recent leadership conference I attended. A couple Saturday’s ago I attended a leadership conference hosted by the ETHOS Center of Excellence. Our speakers were Dr. Frank Armato and Dr. Barry Young. The conference was from 9am-3pm with 6 powerful sessions. This workshop was c...

For episode 3 of The Hospice Nursing Podcast my first hospice mentor, Mike Barrett, returns to discuss what I believe is the biggest contributor to hospice nursing burnout.  Of all the complaints I hear from nurses regarding burnout and being overworked, charting is the main complaint.  In this episode, Mike and I try our best to debunk the reasons charting cannot be completed at the bedside. We a...

In this episode I introduce my very first hospice mentor, Mike Barrett. Mike explains what he saw in me and how I responded to his training when I first entered hospice in 2015. I then share my own personal story of total financial collapse in 2007 & 2008 that resulted in my own deep depression, and how I managed to recover. During the episode I explain the personal changes I made from 2008-20...

Welcome to episode one of The Hospice Nursing Podcast! In episode one I provide my audio resume. It is a dramatically condensed version since I turned 50 this year! Nobody has time for too much of my history.  Anyway below is some of the content I promised during the episode. Please click HERE to review the Hospice News article I read during the episode. You can also visit the hospice nurse suppor...