I have come to the conclusion that most people think all hospice volunteers do bedside service for people who are dying. While they say they admire what hospice volunteers do, they often add they couldn’t do that kind of work themselves. That’s probably because they don’t know that there are other ways they can provide admirable hospice service themselves that would be more appropriate for their personal comfort zones.
Becoming a hospice volunteer required that I take several classes. My classes consisted of a dozen students from varied backgrounds. All of us were eager to learn what hospice entailed and what our future responsibilities might be. I learned the basics in how to support patients and their families and felt comfortable making a commitment to serving patients in inner-city Detroit nursing homes, instead of private homes. I thrived in that environment.
But a few months later, I noticed a member of my former training class working at the front desk of the hospice organization. When I asked her why she was working there, she explained that she had been unhappy working directly with terminally ill patients. She especially didn’t like working in nursing homes, but service in private homes was also not attractive. When she mentioned her concerns to the hospice coordinator, she was given other service options. Those options included involvement with office work, community outreach, and fundraising. She chose office work and said she felt fulfilled and productive supporting hospice in this manner. She especially liked communicating with visitors.
Ultimately, we had both found our respective niches where we could make our best contributions as volunteers. I encourage anyone considering hospice volunteering to keep in mind that there are various ways to serve. Hospice organizations in your local area can give you a variety of options from which to choose when you contact them. They could not function without the dedicated services of volunteers and the diverse talents they bring.
In the following video, Hospice of the Red River Valley in North Dakota is an example of a hospice organization that showcases volunteer roles for many.
Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and e-book editions in America and other countries at online and offline booksellers.
Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog
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