"A major challenge is the emotional rollercoaster that can come with working with patients on hospice or palliative care.
While building relationships and providing care for patients at the end-of-life stage can be rewarding, it can also be heartbreaking. Sometimes it's hard to leave those emotions at work and not bring them home with you, so I usually use my time driving home to reflect on the day and work through how I'm feeling and cope with the events of the day. I also have a good support system at home though, so I'm able to leverage that when I need to as well.
Another challenge can be all the electronic charting sometimes. Charting is critical to document patient information, of course, but sometimes it's difficult to try and have a conversation with a patient and maintain eye contact when you're trying to keep up with making notes on your computer in real-time. I try to repeat back what I hear to demonstrate that I'm actively listening as well as to ask probing questions and empathize throughout the conversation so they feel like I'm present in the conversation and not just typing."
