by Annie Pan
Introduction
This summer I interned at Unity Hospice in St. Louis, Missouri where I had the opportunity to serve the elderly community as a hospice volunteer. Hospice care provides compassionate end-of-life support for patients with terminal illnesses, focusing on comfort rather than cure. It offers comprehensive care, including pain management, emotional, and spiritual support, tailored to the needs of patients and their families. My role was to enhance the quality of life during a patient’s final days, allowing them to live as fully and comfortably as possible.
Key Experiences
Several key experiences I had during my internship as a hospice volunteer included providing patient care and support as well as interdisciplinary collaboration with the patient and hospice staff. A significant achievement that I did was working with hospice patients to engage/create daily activities for them during their stay at hospice, improving overall patient engagement through creating fun exercises for them to do throughout the day and created 10+ new activities each week. Additionally, I collaborated with hospice nurses/staff to integrate a new system of training new hospice volunteers through helping create a virtual training manual, receiving 20+ positive reviews/feedback from current/new hospice volunteers. Lastly, I also collaborated with hospice nurses/staff to reach out to universities as well as look at research online to find ways to improve the quality of hospice, drafting a list of 20 potential ideas to be implemented. Some challenges I faced initially was struggling to be social enough to interact with my patients but over time, I became more outgoing and more comfortable interacting with everyone.
Skills and Knowledge Gained
Some skills I acquired through my internship include soft skills include teamwork through interacting and working alongside hospice staff as well as creative thinking such as coming up with activities for hospice patients. Some hard skills I acquired include speaking Spanish since one of my patients spoke only Spanish, so I practiced my Spanish speaking skills with them.
Impact of OKRs
My first OKR #1 was to focus on enhancing my “Activator” strength and being able to take action instead of simply coming up with ideas with little to no fruition. Through pursuing this goal, I was able to start off my day with a goal and eagerness to finish them. My OKR helped me be motivated and allowed me to set physical goals and create 10 new activities for my patients. My second OKR was that given my desire to pursue a career that focuses on the intersection of medicine, psychology, and mental health, my next objective was to explore patient interaction and gain a deeper understanding of what it truly means to care for a patient through being a hospice volunteer. Through pursuing this OKR, I was able to care for my patient deeper and I believe I gained a deeper personal connection through this OKR. Lastly, a huge goal of Unity Hospice is to provide exceptional end-of-life care for patients. As a result, my third objective is to strive to make each patient I work with feel like they are cared for and valued. Through striving to accomplish this OKR, I was able to come up with unique activity ideas to make my patients feel cared for.
Lessons Learned
One of the key lessons I learned is understanding the importance of simply being present. In hospice care, often, it’s not about doing something to fix a situation but about offering my presence and support to those who are facing the end of life. This teaches the significance of being a compassionate listener and offering comfort just by being there. Additionally, hospice care brings into sharp focus the fragility of life and the inevitability of death. This awareness encourages a deeper appreciation for life, prompting a more mindful and intentional way of living. It also reinforces the importance of helping others make the most of their remaining time, growing me as a student and individual.
Future Applications
My experience volunteering for hospice will be beneficial for my future goals of a career in mental health since hospice volunteering exposes me to individuals facing the end of life, helping me develop deep empathy and compassion—essential qualities in mental health work. I learned how to support patients and families during emotionally challenging times, which can translate into providing sensitive care for those dealing with mental health issues. Additionally, dealing with death and dying can be emotionally taxing. Hospice volunteering taught me how to manage my own emotions and build resilience, which is crucial when working with mental health clients who may be experiencing severe distress or trauma. Overall, my time as a hospice volunteer has exposed me to more mental health opportunities and skyrocketed my eagerness for a career in mental health.
