Hospice Intern

Overview

Hospice is a set of services that help the patient and family cope with the effects of terminal illness. The goal of hospice care is to enhance the quality of life for patient and family and allow patients to spend their remaining time in their home. Hospice provides comfort when cure is no longer possible or curative treatment is no longer desired.

Hospice got its start as a volunteer movement, and volunteers are still a strong part of hospice work. New Jersey’s licensed hospices offer many opportunities for people who wish to donate their time to the good work of hospice.

There are several hospices across Monmouth County, all of which accept volunteers/interns.

Duties

--assist with patients and families
--administration
--fundraising

Requirements

--attend training course

How to Apply

Contact hospice of interest and request to speak to Volunteer Coordinator

Contact Information

Ascend Hospice - 908-931-9080

Caring Hospice - 732-661-9373

Embracing HospiceCare - 732-974-2545

Grace HealthCare Services - 866-447-0246

Homeside Hospice - 732-381-3444

Life Choice Hospice - 800-557-7570

Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care of New Jersey - 609-570-4800

Serenity Hospice Care - 609-227-2400

The Martin and Edith Stein Hospice - 732-227-1212

Vitas Innovative Hospice Care - 732-389-0066

Student Feedback

My days at Vitas Healthcare were spent either in the office doing admin work: such as,

putting together admission packets, mailing brochures, or putting stamps on envelopes or spent

in various settings visiting patients. I was also invited to sit in on the interdisciplinary team

meetings that were held every wednesday at 1pm. These meetings allowed me to get a full

understanding of everyone’s role at the site and contributed greatly to my success as a patient

care volunteer, because within these meetings I was able to get an in depth description of patients

that I would be visiting which led to an overall better visit due to my depth of understanding of

the patient. Some skills I learned were how to communicate effectively and professionally with

my supervisor and other Vitas staff. This was a vital skill to practice because I am sure I will

need to have effective communication in my future clinical career- both with other professionals

and my future clientele. I also got to practice clinically speaking to the end-of-life population-- I

learned what to say and what not to say to the patients and their families. This was awesome

training for when/if I ever have contact with grieving individuals in my future professional

career. The least enjoyable part of this internship was building bonds with patients and knowing

that they will not be around much longer, but this downfall assisted in gaining emotional

toughness and learning how to leave work at work and to not bring it home. Great practice for

my future clinical career. Though, it was the least enjoyable, visiting the patients and building a

bond with them was also the most enjoyable part of my internship at Vitas. The pure glee that the

patients had on their faces at the site of my walking into their homes for visits was priceless. The

fact that I was able to make a lasting impact on so many people really is an unexplainable

feeling. I am forever grateful for the lives I have touched at this internship and the lives that have

touched my heart dearly. My internship at Vitas will have a lasting impact on my life. A caring,

dedicated, committed, and passionate student should seek internship at Vitas.

~Tichelle Pender, Spring '19, VITAS Healthcare

Have you interned here? Add your feedback to help other students by emailing [Goodwin].