Hospice Care InternAt — Echo Hospice

We at Echo Hospice are looking for those who are wanting and willing to learn more about end-of-life care. We are looking for those who want to provide supportive care, companionship and assist with daily living of those on hospice. 

1. Proper understanding and demonstrations on proper bedside care for patients
2. Proper sanitation and cleanliness standards for patients
3. Understanding and development of communication skills between patients and families
3. Note taking and observations of what both the Physician and Registered Nurse are conducting
4. With a Physician or Registered Nurse present the student will be able to understand and chart a patients blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature as well as gain knowledge if there are any abnormalities present
5. Participate with a Physician or Registered Nurse during a patient assessment

Training:

The orientation that will be provided will cover many aspects such as what is end-of-life care as well as end-of-life care education which will demonstrate the principles and practices of end-of-life care. We will be holding workshops after orientation on how to empathy build and well as build on communication skills when being a support system for both patients and their families. We will be holding a weekly meeting in person to talk about how you feel you are doing throughout this internship course. There will be shadowing during the entire program, interns will be able to shadow the Physicians and Registered Nurses as they examine the patient(s) and it is encouraged that the intern take notes and ask questions during these times in order to gain more knowledge on what is taking place. Apart from post orientation workshop, there will be multiple workshops that will be held such as empathy building, proper patient communication skills, proper sanitation, cultural sensitivity and safety for patients and their families. Some of the tasks that will be completed will be observation of the patient with a Physician or Registered Nurse present, proper bedside care for patients, communication with both patient and family on what will be conducted on a day to day basis.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the academic internship, the student will know how to preform proper bedside care for hospice patients, develop communication and empathy skills with both the patients as well as families involved, gain a deeper understanding of end of life care, provide support for both patients and family as well as becoming knowledgeable about holistic approaches and palliative care.