The healthcare industry has its own language. It’s complicated, even for those of us who work inside it. We use hundreds of acronyms and initials for diagnoses, procedures, organizations, and facilities. Even healthcare professionals can’t keep track of all the terms.
Hospice has its own little dialect inside the language of healthcare. I like to call it hospicespeak. It contains terms that only we understand. It’s the code of the care of the dying.
For those patients and families we serve, it’s a foreign language. It’s confusing, bewildering, and anxiety-causing. For end of life professionals, those technical terms can be ways of avoiding getting too specific with our patients. If we speak “Hospice Lite”, maybe patients and families will have enough information to get them through the experience, but we don’t have to give a lot of detail. We don’t have to take the time to be specific. And then maybe we won’t have to deal with the emotional situations that will arise.
Speaking a language filled with technical healthcare terms disconnects hospice professionals from the humanity of the patients and caregivers they serve. While it might make the hospice team more comfortable, it doesn’t help our patients. Vague terms for death don’t make things better.
It’s ok to say the words we tend to avoid. It’s ok to say death and dying. Don’t add confusion to an experience that’s already hurtful and can be frightening. Be honest and compassionate in the way you talk to your patients and families, and you’ll never go wrong. Customize your approach. Teach and support the “unit of care” in ways that are meaningful for them, according to their wishes, needs, education, and intellect. It’s all about personalizing the care.
If you’re a consumer of hospice care – patient, caregiver, family member – ask for explanations that you can understand. Your hospice team should never be offended by requests for more detail or clarification. Ask, and ask again! You need tools that you can use to navigate your hospice journey. That includes more than medications, equipment, and medical supplies.
Simple, straightforward information can minimize confusion, anxiety, and mistakes. Communicating that information with respect, compassion, and kindness adds in to comfort and quality of life. It’s at the heart of what we do in end of life care.
No matter who you are, or where you are in your hospice journey, you are The Heart of Hospice.