They each did something else before coming here of course. You don’t just graduate from nursing school and hop right into hospice work. Some have done medical-surgical nursing in hospitals for many years. Some have very technical knowledge gleaned in obstetric, coronary care and intensive care unit settings.

Others have changed careers -- attorneys before, now nurses. At least two of my colleagues share Third World perspectives--Southeast Asia and Guatemala. Somehow we alight here amongst like-minded souls.

Because of our diversity in backgrounds, skill-sets and emotional strengths, we build a strong team working together toward a common goal. Because, after all, we are serving people who are dying, and we have one chance to make a difference on their behalf in the most poignant moment of another person’s life.

One nurse told me, it was wearing heavy on her as an ICU nurse, participating way too often in yet another conflicted march of procedures, machinery, invasive lines, another care scheme where the only enduring theme was a sense of futility.

“But nothing we ever do in hospice is futile,” she said. “The patient’s dignity and their unique desires for living out their end-in-life chapter are always in focus.”

And even though some patients die within just a few days, for the most part she has time to grow into relationships with her patients and their families. Trust develops as you get to know each other and that takes time and love. The loving makes losing them sad, but what a rich way to earn a living.

Another explains to me she had grown restless in her clinic job, she wanted a new challenge. A friend suggested she look into hospice nursing. Now she wouldn’t do anything else--she plans to retire right here.

“Why at Yolo Hospice?” I asked. That is a good question, actually.

With a nation-wide shortage in nurses, R.N.s can be choosy when job hunting. They choose Yolo Hospice for many reasons. One, it is a community-based organization, not associated with a larger corporation or hospital chain. All voices are heard, decisions are made right here, right now.

Another reason is the money that Yolo Hospice puts aside every year in its budget to make sure it can cover what others can’t. That’s what these nurses want in an employer, they tell me. This smaller agency, unwavering in its allegiance the past 26 years to a commitment that no patient ever be turned away for lack of funds.

Other reasons they choose to be Yolo Hospice nurses are, in their words:

“It’s all about the patients. We are all here for the patients and families. When we are there to help in their time of transition, that’s what makes the job for me.”

 “I felt like I had come home when I got here.”
         
“There is so much richness in our meetings to discuss patient care. Sometimes the depth of insight around the table blows me away. When there is a really hard case, the team pulls together and everybody benefits…the patient and family of course, but all of us learn something about ourselves too.”

Well, anyway, I’m in. You can’t find another line of work for me, either.

Yolo Hospice serves terminally ill patients and their families in Yolo County and areas in Solano, Sacramento, Sutter and Colusa counties. To learn more about the services offered, or to find out about volunteer, call 530-758-5566 or visit our website: www.yolohospice.org.