The Complete Hospice Visit: A Nurse’s Guide to Excellence (Empowering Excellence in Hospice: A Nurse’s Toolkit for Best Practices)

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Transform your hospice visits into comprehensive, effective patient encounters with this practical guide designed for both new and experienced hospice nurses and clinical managers. This essential handbook provides a systematic framework for conducting thorough hospice visits that enhance care quality, reduce triage calls, and improve family satisfaction.
Through detailed chapters covering critical assessment skills, readers will master the art of proactive care planning and documentation. Starting with a systematic visit approach, the guide progresses through crucial topics like assessing imminent death within a two-week window, evaluating changes in condition, measuring decline velocity, ensuring care plan effectiveness, managing medications, and maximizing support services.
Special features include assessment checklists, documentation templates, communication scripts, and quick reference guides that make complex concepts immediately actionable. The book offers practical tools for evaluating imminent death indicators, understanding disease progression patterns, and recognizing subtle changes that signal approaching end-of-life.
Clinical managers will find valuable insights for training staff and standardizing visit procedures. New nurses will gain confidence through clear protocols and assessment frameworks, while experienced clinicians will discover fresh perspectives for enhancing their practice. The guide bridges the gap between basic hospice training and expert practice by providing structured approaches for:Conducting systematic patient assessmentsRecognizing and documenting decline patternsManaging medications effectivelyCoordinating interdisciplinary careMeeting documentation requirementsSupporting families through the end-of-life journey
Comprehensive appendices provide ready-to-use tools, including visit checklists, documentation templates, communication scripts, and quick reference guides for common hospice scenarios. These practical resources help nurses implement concepts immediately in their daily practice.
The book’s systematic approach helps prevent oversight of critical components during visits while ensuring thorough documentation that supports Medicare compliance. By implementing these evidence-based practices, nurses can enhance care quality, reduce unnecessary triage calls, improve CAHPS scores, and increase family satisfaction.
Whether you’re new to hospice care or an experienced clinician looking to refine your practice, this comprehensive resource provides the structure and tools needed to deliver excellence in end-of-life care. Make every visit count with this indispensable guide for hospice excellence.

From the Publisher

Empowering Hospice Nurses to Bloom

This essential collection empowers hospice nurses and clinical leaders to achieve transformative outcomes through evidence-based practice and regulatory excellence. The expanded series now includes ” The Art of Hospice Prognosis, ” which offers systematic methods for determining terminal decline and communicating prognosis with compassion, and ” The Hospice CoP Handbook, ” a definitive guide to mastering Medicare Conditions of Participation (CoPs) through workflow optimization and interdisciplinary collaboration.

The series focuses on enhancing patient and family experiences and clinical confidence. It covers essential areas, including eligibility documentation, symptom management, dementia care, caregiver communication, and quality metric implementation. The new volumes incorporate prognostic tools, such as PPS scales, into care planning frameworks that align documentation with regulatory standards, mitigating audit risks while ensuring a patient-centered approach to care.

The Hospice CoP Handbook connects compliance and compassion by offering templates for thorough assessments, medication reconciliation, and bereavement support that satisfy CMS requirements while respecting individual needs. Paired with The Art of Hospice Prognosis’s evidence-based algorithms for terminal trajectories, these resources empower teams to balance clinical accuracy with empathetic communication.

Ongoing additions to the series will further address emerging challenges in palliative care, including integrating telehealth and enhancing staff resilience. Each volume combines practical protocols—from visit prioritization to spiritual assessments—with measurable strategies to increase family satisfaction, reduce live discharges, and sustain organizational excellence. For nurses and managers dedicated to improving end-of-life care, this dynamic toolkit transforms regulatory complexity into opportunities for meaningful and dignified care.

Also, consider these books to help you complete your holistic nursing journey and ensure the best possible outcomes for your patients, caregivers, and family members!

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This resource, designed for nurses’ specific clinical realities, provides ready-to-use assessment tools, intervention strategies, and documentation guidelines that seamlessly integrate with existing workflows. Real-life scenarios demonstrate how these techniques can be applied in time-constrained environments.

This practical guide transforms difficult patient interactions into opportunities for meaningful intervention, improving patient care and nursing confidence.

The Nurse’s Guide to Motivational Interviewing; Empowering Patients to Make Lasting Health Changes

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By mastering OARS skills and the Stages of Change model, nurses can:

Reduce stress: Navigate resistance without power struggles, preserving emotional energy.Improve outcomes: Elicit patients’ own motivations for change, increasing adherence to treatment plans.Streamline complex conversations: Use ready-to-apply scripts for diabetes management, medication compliance, and chronic disease discussions.Boost job satisfaction: Foster trust through patient-led goal-setting and celebrate progress in health behaviors.

Packed with real-world dialogue templates and telehealth adaptations, this guide turns challenging conversations into productive exchanges.

Nurses gain practical tools to reduce friction, improve patient engagement, and rediscover joy in their work.

Compassionate Care in Conflict: A Nurse’s Guide to Managing Combative Patients

Compassionate Care in Conflict equips nurses with evidence-based strategies to de-escalate combative patients while preserving dignity safely.

Learn to recognize signs of agitation early, apply trauma-informed communication, and navigate high-stress scenarios like medication refusal or aggression. Practical techniques include:

Proactive environmental adjustments to prevent escalationValidation methods that reduce tensionSafe resistance management during critical procedures

The guide emphasizes addressing root causes of combativeness—pain, fear, cognitive issues—to improve care plan adherence and clinical safety. Real-world scripts, safety protocols, and stress-reduction methods foster calmer environments, protecting patient outcomes and nurse well-being.

Transform confrontational encounters into opportunities for connection and effective care.

Dementia Staging Mastery: A Nurse’s Guide to Dementia Assessment

Dementia Staging Mastery equips nurses with evidence-based strategies to assess dementia progression accurately using the Functional Assessment Staging Tool (FAST).

By mastering precise staging, nurses improve patient outcomes through tailored care plans that address specific needs—from early cognitive changes to late-stage symptom management.

The book’s practical frameworks help nurses educate families, reducing fear by explaining disease progression and setting realistic expectations. Real-world case studies and integration with tools like the MMSE and Clock Drawing Test enhance clinical accuracy, while ethical guidance supports dignity-preserving care.

Nurses benefit from streamlined assessments, clearer communication with interdisciplinary teams, and confidence in guiding families through complex decisions.

Transform uncertainty into actionable care strategies, foster trust with patients and caregivers, and elevate quality of life through staging mastery.

Author, Peter Abraham, BSN, RN with experience in cardiology, long-term care, dementia caregiving, and rural hospice

My goal as an author is to help you, my fellow hospice nurses, flourish and thrive. I have a deep appreciation and passion for those who are terminally ill. So far, much of what we learned in the past came from the school of hard knocks.

My published books make learning from fundamental to advanced concepts more straightforward, allowing you to thrive as a hospice nurse. I want the care your patients and their families receive to shine so brightly that you and your hospice agency are recognized as leaders in the field.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0DR63FKCG
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published
Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 20, 2024
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 119 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8304355209
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.1 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.27 x 9 inches
Part of series ‏ : ‎ Empowering Excellence in Hospice: A Nurse’s Toolkit for Best Practices