Six reasons why I decided to become a hospice nurse after I graduated from university

(Video filmed in 2022)

1. The support was there right from the start

I was only 22 when I got the job at St Barnabas House. I’d not long come out of uni, and I remember my friends asking how I would cope looking after people who are so unwell, but I knew I wanted to help people at such an important time in their lives. 

I was a bit worried at first because I was young, but everyone made me feel so welcome and for the first four months I had the opportunity to get experience on the in-patient unit as well as caring for people in their own homes. Working on the hospice ward was invaluable as I was surrounded by nurses, doctors and healthcare assistants who I could talk to and learn from. My confidence grew and grew, and it wasn’t long before I made the decision to focus on community care – there is something very special about looking after people in their own homes. 

2. Helping people to remain at home is so rewarding

A lot of people don’t realise that most hospice care happens in people’s own homes, out in the community. For many of the patients I see, it’s the place that they feel most comfortable, where they are surrounded by their belongings and the people they love the most. To be able to give them the option to remain at home in their last few months, weeks, and days and to make sure they are as comfortable as possible is so rewarding. I get to meet their pets, listen to family stories, and share in so many other precious moments. 

3. It’s refreshing to help break down the taboos around hospice care and dying

Sometimes families say to me that they were worried about my first visit, but they’re often really surprised and say it’s nothing like what they expected. I think there’s a lot of stigma around palliative and end-of-life care and people can feel scared because there are a lot of unknowns. Sometimes there might be conversations they are scared to have, but when they open up and ask questions it can be a big relief. I’m able to talk them through what to expect as they become less well and help take some of the fear out of dying. People always say how comforting and reassuring it is to have such open conversations. 

4. It’s a really uplifting place to work

My first experience of St Barnabas House was when I was 12 and I visited my uncle in the old hospice building. Even back then I remember thinking what a lovely place it was to be. My uncle was happy and pain-free and surrounded by smiling, caring nurses. Now I’ve become a hospice nurse myself, I love that I am able to provide that same level of care I saw when I was a little girl – helping patients to live every day they have left as positively and peacefully as possible. 

Yes, there are sad moments because as nurses we develop strong relationships with patients and walk with their families through some of life’s most difficult moments. But we all love what we do and the difference we can make. We talk, laugh and occasionally cry together, but whatever happens, everyone is so supportive. 

5. There are so many career development opportunities

I’ve been at the hospice for five years now and the number of new opportunities I’ve had in that time has been incredible. I’ve worked on the in-patient unit, in the Hospice at Home team and I was even given the opportunity to try out the role of Team Leader for five months, coordinating 30 nurses and care support workers in the community. It was a huge learning curve and really pushed me outside my comfort zone, so when a new position as a Senior Registered Nurse came up, I was able to use all that experience and build upon it in a different role.  

When I joined the hospice, my goal was to be a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) within five years. So, when a CNS development position came up, I jumped at the opportunity. It was a two-year course, with one day of self-directed study per week and another day shadowing a CNS, with the remaining time spent working in the team.   

I have now completed my training and am working in the team as a Clinical Nurse Specialist. The additional responsibility means I now make medication suggestions and liaise with doctors, as well as managing the patient and ensuring their symptoms are controlled. I am now responsible for drawing up the treatment plan, as opposed to simply following it. 

6. There’s always something new to learn

This role is still quite new, but there is other training I would like to complete further down the line, including university modules in physical assessment and prescribing. 

There used to be a perception that nurses came to palliative nursing at the end of their careers, but that seems to be changing. One of my colleagues is beginning the CNS development programme now, and she’s a similar age to me.  

The support I’ve had in the five years I’ve been here is incredible – and there are still more opportunities to come.