A day in the life of...

Mary Brooks

Mary is one of our community nurse specialists and has been with the hospice for over 20 years. Here she shares a typical day.

8.15am

Arrive at the hospice to reply to phone messages (8 in total this morning) and to make planned calls to patients who are expecting to hear from me to see how they are.

9am

Manage (just) to squeeze this all in before our 9am meeting with the hospice's other care teams. Patients and their families may need to use other elements of our care such as Day Hospice, emotional and spiritual support, and the Bedded Unit.

9.20am

We have a quick community team meeting, part of which is to offer support to one another. One of my fellow nurses is particularly distressed about a patient who is now less well. We talk about the situation and his feelings.

10.45am

Arrive for visit. The patient and his family openly share their concerns about coping with pain, how they are going to cope financially, and their feeling of losing control of their lives. I feel relieved that we start to address those concerns together and can look forward.

11.30am

A bereavement visit to make and I'm feeling apprehensive. The lady concerned had a difficult death and this touches my own grief for someone I have lost. The visit ends up being easier than expected although I wish deeply that I could do more to relieve their grief and distress.

12.30pm

Lunchtime meeting with district nurses and then GPs at Bideford Medical Centre. We discuss our patients and what care needs to be offered next. By working together as a team, we know we can offer the best care possible.

2pm

Next visit is to a family who are struggling with the knowledge that it will soon be the last birthday for their loved one. It is profoundly emotional. I encourage them to look forward to what the birthday brings such as close family members coming to stay.

3.30pm

My last visit is to a patient who is coping well and looking forward to life. I leave feeling uplifted, inspired and encouraged. We agree that I will phone in a fortnight to see how she is doing. She knows she can call before then if she needs me.

4.30pm

Get back to hospice for more calls (one to Social Services to chase a benefit claim for a carer). I input details into our database so that our records are complete.

5.30pm

I'm tired but able to switch off as I look forward to meeting friends later in the evening. I reflect how fortunate and humbled I am to be part of the lives of those I have visited today.