Insights - Winter 2010 - (Page 37)

Pharmacists and Nurses Connect By Terri L. Maxwell, PhD, APRN; Laura Scarpaci, PharmD, BCPS; and Terre Mirsch, RN, BSN, CHPN, CHPCA Jefferson Hospice and Home Care (Radnor, PA); Lighthouse Hospice (Cherry Hill, NJ); and Methodist Alliance Hospice (Memphis, TN). The Hospice Visit Program was launched in March 2010 and continues today. It is aimed at improving the pharmacists’ understanding of the patient and family experience in hospice and to expose them to the role and responsibilities of hospice nurses. When implementing the program, it was agreed that the experience should provide a realistic view of a “typical day” for a hospice nurse. The Program’s Structure The program consists of three parts: pre-visit preparation; oneday hospice visit; and a postvisit reflection and evaluation. To prepare pharmacists for their visits, they are provided a field guide containing several recommended readings and continued on next page... T he interdisciplinary model employed by hospice helps to ensure that the complex needs of patients at the end of life are holistically addressed. The success of the interdisciplinary team depends on a mutual understanding of each team member’s role, responsibilities, strengths and weaknesses. Pharmacists have an increasingly important role as members of the hospice IDT; however, education about palliative care lags behind that offered in nursing and medical schools and pharmacists rarely have an opportunity to directly observe nurse-hospice patient interactions. To help address this education gap, Hospice Pharmacia, a national hospice pharmacy, developed a Hospice Visit Program for pharmacists, in collaboration with four hospices: Holy Redeemer Home Care and Hospice Services (Philadelphia, PA); Insights 37 

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Insights - Winter 2010

Cover 1
Table of Contents
Thank You
A Philosophical Look at the IDT
Resistance to Change: Perception or Reality?
The Hospice Physician: More Involved—and More Engaged
The Role of Volunteers in Management
Complementary Therapy Innovators
Spending a Day in Their Team Member’s Shoes
Bereavement Professionals Shadow 6 Colleagues
Pharmacists and Nurses Connect
A Social Worker Sits in for an Office Manager
Clinical and Marketing Teams Shadow Each Other
Helpful Reminders for Executive Leadership
Keeping the IDT Spirit Alive
The Art of NCHPP
Using My NHPCO
Essential Guide to Hospice Management (display ad)
NHPCO Educational Offerings
Cover 2

Insights - Winter 2010

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