How to Become a Hospice Nurse: A Complete Guide

The number of hospice care patients in the U.S. has been climbing, from about 1.3 million patients in 2009 to over 1.7 million in 2022. The increased demand for hospice care services leads to more opportunities for nurses interested in working with individuals at the end of life. If you aren’t a registered nurse (RN), you may be curious to learn how to become a hospice nurse when you don’t yet have a nursing degree.

At Xavier University, earning a nursing degree in as few as 16 months with our Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program is possible. If you’re eligible, you could fast-track your career transition into nursing and pursue any nursing specialty, including hospice care.

Before starting, you’ll want to examine how to become a hospice nurse. Learn about hospice nursing and explore how you’ll meet the hospice nurse requirements for licensure.

What Does a Hospice Nurse Do?

Hospice care is for individuals who are suffering from a terminal illness and are expected to have no more than six months to live. Estimating a patient’s life expectancy is not an exact science. Some patients may pass away after being in hospice care for only a few days, while others may live longer than six months.

Due to hospice’s nature, it’s common for the patient’s whole family to be involved. Furthermore, hospice care is often administered in the patient’s home, although it can also be delivered in a hospital or a dedicated hospice center. An aspiring hospice nurse should expect to frequently work with not only patients but their families.

Hospice care is “comfort care”, not therapeutic. This means it’s intended to relieve pain and manage the patient’s other symptoms but not to cure the underlying problem. Hospice care can help patients at the end of life live their last days with dignity and comfort.

With that goal in mind, a hospice care nurse may perform any of the following tasks:

• Monitor the patient’s status and assess for changes.
• Administer medications.
• Discuss symptoms with the patient, making sure the patient’s pain is well-managed.
• Collaborate with hospice team that may include other providers, pharmacists, chaplains, social workers, and nursing assistants.
• Provide psychosocial support to the patient and family caregivers and refer them to support groups and other resources as needed.
• Set up durable medical equipment and teach family caregivers how to operate it.
• Show family caregivers how to use various medical supplies and care for the patient’s hygiene needs.

Patient and family caregiver education is a major part of this nursing role, and nurses need to approach it with sensitivity and emotional intelligence. For example, family members might want to know about the signs to watch out for that can indicate their loved one is very close to death. It’s often best to provide this information outside the patient’s hearing range.

Where Do Hospice Nurses Work?

Hospice care is often delivered in patients’ homes, as many prefer to live out their days in familiar surroundings close to loved ones. As a result, many hospice agencies provide patient care in the home as well as hospice facilities. Hospice nurses may also visit patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities.

Essential Skills and Characteristics for Hospice Nurses

Patients in the hospital can die suddenly from events like stroke, heart attacks and traumatic injuries. These sudden deaths inflict severe emotional distress on the decedents’ loved ones.

Hospice care is different; the patient and their loved ones understand that death is near, but they usually have time to think about it. This sparks anticipatory grief, which refers to feelings of grief that develop before the death has occurred. Both patients and their families can experience severe anticipatory grief for months, and it can be difficult for them to bear.

Because of the nature of hospice care, nurses must be especially compassionate, empathetic and emotionally intelligent. They must be attuned to the emotional, mental and spiritual needs of patients and loved ones, as well as their physical and medical needs.

Additional skills and characteristics that hospice nurses need include:

• Attention to detail
• Cultural competence
• Emotional resilience
• Grief and bereavement support
• Pain management skills
• Patience
• Patient advocacy
• Patient and family caregiver education

Emotional resilience is vital for hospice nurses, as this job can be challenging at times. Hospice nurses understand that when they meet a new patient, they will not likely continue working with that patient for a prolonged period. It can be emotionally challenging to lose patients continually. Hospice nurses need to practice self-care regularly to avoid burnout.

Steps to Becoming a Hospice Nurse

If you feel you would be well-suited to this career, consider how to become a hospice nurse, starting with the academic requirements.

Meet the Educational Requirements for Hospice Nursing

The process of becoming a hospice nurse requires the same steps as those of other types of RNs. You’ll need a nursing degree, preferably a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). Xavier’s ABSN program confers a quality BSN that prepares you to pursue any nursing specialty, including hospice care.

Our blended learning approach includes:

• Online coursework: Teaches nursing concepts, including topics ranging from pharmacology to pathophysiology and beyond
• Nursing labs: Instruct students in developing nursing skills and applying the nursing process to any patient care scenario
• Clinical rotations: Provide real-world experience delivering patient care under supervision

Obtain Licensure for Hospice Nursing

All aspiring RNs, no matter their chosen nursing specialty, must pass the same exam: the NCLEX-RN. This national licensure exam is challenging, so you’ll need plenty of time to study. Xavier is pleased to offer Academic Success Coaches, with whom you can work on NCLEX prep. We also provide extensive NCLEX prep resources to help you succeed. After passing the NCLEX, you can apply for your state-issued nursing license.

Gain Clinical Experience

When you’re ready to apply for hospice nursing jobs, consider focusing on positions available at hospitals, nursing homes and hospice care centers instead of home health agencies.

Generally, home health agencies prefer hiring nurses with at least a few years of clinical experience at the bedside. This is because a hospice nurse working at a patient’s home must practice independently; they won’t have coworkers nearby to whom they can turn for guidance. It helps to have experience.

As a Xavier nursing graduate you will be eligible to obtain your certification in holistic nursing, which will provide you will additional skills that will beneficial when applying for jobs in the field of hospice care.

Obtain Hospice Nurse Certification

After gaining clinical experience in hospice care, you may wish to pursue professional certification to demonstrate your knowledge and career qualifications. This may aid you in pursuing career advancement. One option is the certification from the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC).

Pursue Your Future in Hospice Care at Xavier

Xavier University’s ABSN program can help you pursue a career working with patients at the end of life. Alternatively, you can choose any exciting nursing specialty after earning your degree at either of our two enrollment locations in Ohio. Here, you’ll benefit from a flexible hybrid approach to learning, where online coursework is blended with in-person learning experiences.

Contact our admissions advisers today to find out if our ABSN program is the right fit for you.