A hospice worker is a source of comfort at the end of life.
The training to become a hospice worker, either professional or volunteer, prepares one for the unique philosophy of hospice. Hospice care is meant to give a patient comfort at the end of life. Therefore, its object is to relieve suffering and provide comfort by reducing, or easing, the severity of symptoms. Hospice is also referred as "palliative care," which the World health Organization (WHO) defines as "the active total care of patients whose disease is not responsive to curative treatment."
History
In the 1950s, Dame Cicely Saunders recognized the beginnings of the gross divergence of medical care for the curable and for the dying. "Dame Saunders, trained as a nurse, social worker and physician, envisioned a team approach to patient care, with emphasis on patient-directed goals and quality of life," states Martha Twaddle in her book "Dignity and Dying,"
Significance
In 1967, St. Christopher's Hospice opened in London, England. Twaddle points out that hospice care emphasized symptom control and support, socially and spiritually, of the terminal patient and family. From this philosophy, centered on the comfort of the patient, the field of palliative medicine emerged. This specialized field focuses on the alleviation, not curing, of the symptoms of a patient.
Types
Hospice training can vary greatly, depending on the area of hospice care a person chooses to enter. Volunteers are trained to assist in providing care and information to the health care professionals. Chaplains must undergo formal training through the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education. Other professionals are trained in conjunction with their various schools.
Function
Hospice training serves to teach the caregiver administer holistic pain management. Twaddle points out that Hospice, following Dame Saunders, saw pain as being composed of physical, psychological, social and spiritual aspects. Therefore, the hospice worker is trained to work toward the goal of whole-person care. According to Twaddle, the worker is to be a part of a "team structure and approach to care" and is "uniquely capable of assessing and managing total pain."
Time Frame
In addition to initial training and certifications, the maintaining of certification through continuing education courses is required. The purpose of this is to allow the hospice worker to stay informed about current ethical dilemmas, new palliative techniques and legal developments. In other words, as life span increases, biotechnology advances, and new laws are created, the hospice workers must always strive to be educated on contemporary issues.
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