CU Nursing - Commencement Spring 2021 - 7

G R A D U AT I O N

Music to Her Ears

" Each situation is unique and depends
on the individual you are working with, "
said Earlix. As a death doula, the work can
include legacy work such as ethical wills,
audio/video recordings of their lives,
writing letters to family members and
art projects; assisting with the logistics
of funerals; and arranging vigils when
the person is in the active stage of dying.
" Really anything the dying person and
their family need support with, " she said.

HELPING PATIENTS AND FAMILIES COPE WITH CHRONIC
ILLNESS AND END-OF-LIFE CARE By Dana Brandorff

erith Earlix spent more than 20 years as a music
teacher and eventually owned her own music
school. She took a few years off to raise her kids
who are now 13, 14, 15 and 17. And then decided to
do " something completely different. "

She chose nursing and became a certified nursing assistant
(CNA) to get experience before nursing school. " The first half
of my life, I focused on the arts. The second half on science.
So when I die, I will be well rounded! "

SIGHTS SET ON BEING A HOSPICE NURSE
For Earlix, the hospice setting was a perfect fit. " I loved being
a CNA. We could spend up to an hour to visit, support, and
listen to our clients. " Having always had an interest in working
with the dying, Earlix was dead set on being a hospice nurse
when she started pursuing her nursing degree. But after mental
health clinicals and a capstone at the Veterans Administration
on the inpatient psychiatric unit, she developed an enormous
secondary interest in mental health.
Earlix's emphasis is in the intersection of hospice, end-oflife care, and mental health. " It's about living, not about
dying... providing comfort, a feeling of being connected and
supported. " Her ideal job would be to work in a psychiatric
setting that included mental health, older adults, dementia,
and end-of-life care.

The first half of my life, I
focused on the arts. The second
half on science. So when I die, I
will be well rounded! " - Kerith Earlix, CNA
TRAINED AS A DEATH DOULA
Her interest in the field led her to become a death doula
(similar to a birth doula), providing psycho-social-spiritual
support to the dying and their families. She trained with the
International End of Life Doula Association (INELDA), a nonprofit organization " dedicated to bringing deeper meaning
and greater comfort to dying people and loved ones in the
last days of life. "

Kerith
Earlix, CNA

Because of her focus on addressing the
spiritual needs of patients and how it
affects healing, Earlix has researched different cultures and discovered how some
are much more comfortable talking about
death and dying than others. As an honors student, she was recently invited to
podium present at the Western Institute
of Nursing's 54th Annual Communicating
Nursing Research Conference. Her presentation was titled " Unpacking the
Characteristics of Spirituality through
the Lens of Persons of Color Living with
Serious Illness. "

CU Nursing - Commencement Spring 2021

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