Saturday, July 2, 2011
working with the dying
Ive been thinking about working for hospice ever since my experience with my mother passing away. My family was very glad i was around for my mother death because i am the one who could stay around and do the thing that were unconfortable. Some exaples of unconfortable momments were dispensing the drugs, taking baths, and talking about assest after the death. I had no problem doing these things and actually was glad that i could. I was also the one who insisted that my mother stay home with us at all cost. My aunt who had flown in from conneticut told me that when it was her time to go she was going to call me to care for her. Well all this to say that i am very interested in working with hospice. I brought it up to my boyfriend to see how he would feel about it. He told me that he was concerned that i would never be around because it was a demanding job and he also said that no matter how tough i think i am, working with the dying all the time could really take a toll on my sanity. I agreed with him but it does not deter my passion for caring.im not in a medical field, im in psychology so maybe i can be a counselor to the family during the death of a loved one and after if needed. i would also love to talk to the dying about their fears and beliefs and to talk about anything that they want to talk about. Ill see how the paths lay out in the futur. But its still all very interesting to me.
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You are a very strong person for taking care of you mother to the end. That is something I have never had to handle so I could not possibly begin to understand the stress and loss you needed to endure. I do know, however, many people cannot ensure caring for their loved ones as they die, so I believe your strength and level of care shows you can handle a job in the health field.
ReplyDeleteI believe it would be best for you to spend an hour or more speaking alone to our professor about your story and desire to work in hospice. Maybe she could set you up to shadow someone.
I agree with Devon --- you are a very strong person for doing that! You need to follow your heart though. And, of course, get some advice from people that know hospice (like our professor) or even maybe one of your psychology professors. I don't know if you've had Dr. Tarnowski, but he is really good at helping you figure out your path. I'm thinking of getting my master's in social work, and probably working with hospice or counseling people in need during times of death, like you said. It is a lot to think about. You could go so many directions with this passion to help people in the medical field! But you definitely need to believe in yourself and your own strength as a person.
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned by Devon and Amanda, you are a strong individual who already has experience dealing with those last moments. A majority of people in Western culture, including myself, are not capable (or afraid) of caring for the terminally ill...but you have discovered a personal skill that could land you a future career. I'm sure there are health care positions to those who specialize in psychology, but I would recommend getting a minor in biology or a related field to broaden your knowledge of natural processes....just my two cents.
ReplyDeleteI also have had two experiences with Hospice, both times for my grandmother's. The first time it was very quick, my "Gram" was only in the Hospice house for 12 hours, it was passed her time to go, the second time my "mommom" had home hospice care when her lung cancer began to take over. It was hard to experience death and dying for the first time, but I knew they were no longer in pain due to the Hospice care! Hospice is an awesome organization! I actually am currently volunteering at Hope Hospice in fort myers! Also for your career path, follow your heart, it may take a toll on your emotions ar first, but there are ways to come with that, like we discussed in class, such as humor. Also, I am a psychology major, I plan to become a child life specialist, that may be something you could look into, it is not all about death and dying, but a large part of it is bereavement help with siblings of the children that have died. It is defintely worth looking into!
ReplyDeleteHalley
These types of jobs only can be filled by those who are meant to do them, people don't choose these jobs because of good pay but because it is their desire. I enjoy hearing that there are people liek yourself out their who take passion in this field like out teacher does. These type of programs like hospice wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for people like you who feel that this is their calling. I feel the same drive for working with animals which has led me to the conservation biology field. My boyfriend says I am crazy for jumping into alligator filled lakes to rescue a great blue heron with an injured wing, but without my help these type of species would die out due to our species impact. I also thought being the family counceler would be a very interesting job as well, just the thought of how much you would be able to help a family would be enough to make you enjoy your job and realize how much you are really needed.
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