A Guide for End of Life
This nurse works on-call 60+ hours straight to ensure hospice patients have around-the-clock care
Welcome to Nurse Ascent, a twice-weekly newsletter created by nurses, for nurses. This week, a nurse shares her story behind going from art school graduate to hospice nurse. We also share the latest job opportunities, and news of new treatments for liver disease, a possible cure for HIV in children, and also a bacteria outbreak in NYC.
But first, a shout out to our fellow healthcare workers who get it...
Nurse Spotlight: Sarah Balcom RN, BSN
What I do for work
I’m an on-call hospice nurse working for a home health agency. I’m on the clock for 63 hours straight starting Friday at 5pm until Monday at 8am. I’m available in case of emergency outside the normal “business hours.” Most of the time, people will call for additional pain meds or other medication delivery if they’ve become uncomfortable during the night. I’m also a resource if the patient or family has an emergent situation or if the patient has passed away over night.
How I got here
I originally graduated with a degree in art but soon after realized I didn’t like the pressure of making a living through my art. Because of this, I knew I wanted a stable job that would always be there. I remember first being intrigued by caretaking when I watched how mom took care of my grandpa when he was dying. Also, my dad is a doctor and since I had always been around the medical field through him, I found myself interested in nursing.
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More on Sarah Balcom
A day in my life
As an on-call hospice nurse, I like that my “work place” is always changing and that I have a lot of autonomy. Any given day I might drive to a patient’s home, a long-term care facility, or even the hospital to visit them. During the week, the primary hospice nurse is in charge of assessing the patient and their comfort level throughout the end of life process. We secure arrangement for after death, including emotional and spiritual support for the family. It’s my job during after hours to ensure their hospice care is available 24 hours a day.
My self-care routine
I believe there is a unique type of stress that comes from being a hospice nurse and navigating emotions around death and dying. It can sometimes become heavy holding space for this transition from life not only with the patient and their family members, but also with my personal relationship to it. This reminds me how important my self care is — I like to work out regularly by running, weight training, and walking my dogs in the morning. I also try to plan something fun each week with my partner whether it’s going to the local farmers market or making a quick trip to Disneyland with our season passes.
Headlines in Healthcare
Aid to Liver Disease
A drug named WeGovy has received U.S. approval to treat metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) in adults with moderate to advanced liver fibrosis. It marks the first GLP-1 class therapy to be cleared for MASH, a progressive liver condition affecting around 5% of U.S. adults. Experts note that this advances the drug’s applications beyond diabetes and obesity treatment and develops its presence in the metabolic disease market.
Bacteria Buildings
Legionnaires' disease was reported at an apartment building in the Bronx this week. NYC health officials say that his outbreak is not related to a previous outbreak in Central Harlem, where 113 got sick and 6 died. Legionella bacteria grows in warm, stagnant water and spreads through mist in the air, not by person-to-person transmission. Symptoms often resemble those of the flu and can take up to 2 weeks after exposure to present.
Possible Cure for HIV
Botswana is now recognized as a world leader in eliminating HIV in children. In the early 2000s, rates of mother-to-child infection (from pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding) were at 20%-40%. The country now reports slashing these rates to just 1.2% and is leading clinical trials broadly neutralizing antibodies or bNAbs, a new class of HIV drugs capable of attacking different strains of HIV and stimulating the immune system to recognize them.
Meet the author:
Katie Scoggins
(RN, BSN & Health Writer)
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