Diary of a New Hospice Volunteer

by Lizzy MilesI had forgotten that I had written about my first few days as a hospice volunteer. I just discovered it while I was looking through some old electronic files. Now, ten years later, with more education and a career in hospice, I still notice that some things never change. You would think that I would be more certain about things, but I don ' t think I am. However, I believe that uncertainty is a necessary part of the job. I ' ve written about howwe don ' t know death. When we are uncertain, that means we are evaluating our behavior and how it ' s perceived by others. I now believe it ' s good to be a little bit nervous because it means you care about how you come across.When I became a volunteer manager, I remembered my uncertainties and wrote about how to address them in aFAQ for volunteers.This diary is unedited. I display for you my vulnerability full-force. The only editing was of the identifying information.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Day 1 of my hospice volunteer experience:  Monday, June 11, 2007Before I went on the visit I ran through so many scenarios in my head. What would I say? What would we talk about?  I thought about it all day with a mixture of dread and anticipation. I am not ready for this. I need to do this.When I got to the facility, there was a large open area where lots of patients were in a big circle playing bingo. I worried that my patient that I was to be visiting ...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - Category: Palliative Care Tags: hospice lizzy miles social work uncertainty volunteer volunteering Source Type: blogs