Nicole Ryder, Licensed Vocational Nurse at Huntington Hospice & Palliative Care, has been named a 2024 Frontline Honors honoree by Hospice News.
To become a Frontline honoree, an individual is nominated by their peers. The candidate must be:
- A dedicated, high-performing frontline worker who delivers exceptional experiences and outcomes
- A passionate worker who knows how to put their vision into for the good of their respective industry, the patients and residents they serve, and their families
- An advocate for their industry and their fellow colleagues
Hospice News recently caught up with Ryder to discuss their time in the hospice industry.
HSPN: What drew you to this industry?
Ryder: My mother had recently started her hospice journey as a nurse and felt that I would enjoy the ability to provide comfort to those in their final stages of life. Years prior, when I was only 13 years old, I unexpectedly lost my father to a hidden and rare heart condition. He was only 39 years-old when he passed away, overall a healthy man with so much life to live ahead of him. I had wanted to become a nurse since I was 7 years-old, but my goal after his passing was to continue my education and become a cardiologist. I wanted to learn as much as possible about the heart, to specialize in cardiac disease processes, and to help other patients and families through situations we had unfortunately experienced with my father.
Life significantly changed for me when I had my daughter at only 16 years-old. I graduated high school with honors and continued my education to become the nurse I had initially dreamed of becoming. Looking back, I don’t feel that I necessarily chose an easier path, but more so, I followed the passion ingrained within me to have an active role in providing hands-on care for others. It was near the end of my first year working in a skilled nursing facility that I first experienced not only assisting with the management of a hospice patient, but also witnessing first-hand, the decline itself throughout the dying process. With the loss of my father years prior, I didn’t understand all that was happening or the significance of the interventions being provided. I had many questions at the time, but so much was out of our control as his organs continued to shut down. In assisting with my first hospice patient, I asked what seemed like every question possible. Not only was it an unexpected chance to ask all the questions I didn’t get the opportunity to when my own father was ill, but it also allowed me to assure the patient and family I was caring for, the understanding of their own experience as well.
Oftentimes, death can be unexpected and tragic, but with the knowledge and understanding of all involved, it was peaceful and truly a beautiful experience for the patient and family. While providing quality comfort care, I wanted to continue educating patients and families regarding their diagnoses and to understand the expected changes as their condition(s) progressed through the dying process. In sharing my thoughts, feelings, and experience further with my mother, she encouraged me to make the move to become a hospice nurse. Nearly 12 years later, I am so grateful I did.
HSPN: What’s your biggest lesson learned since starting to work in the industry?
Ryder: Education is key. It is important for a patient, and those caring for them, to understand what is to come in the days ahead, the changes they may see, and the symptoms they may experience. Ensuring the understanding of the various interventions associated in maintaining comfort/symptom management, it is important to understand the reasoning behind it all. It can be as simple as teaching a caregiver how pressure wounds develop so they understand the importance of repositioning, or as complex as ensuring a loved one understands the status of a patient in the dying process so they can arrange a flight to express their final “goodbye.” When we understand the disease process, the etiology of symptoms and/or what symptoms can lead to, we have more desire to provide the available interventions to alleviate/prevent a symptom.
There can be so much fear associated with the use of certain medications and/or providing interventions however, I have found that those fears are often due to a lack of knowledge or experience. With teaching and understanding, there is usually more openness to following instruction to maximize the efficacy of appropriate intervention(s). In turn, an overall understanding by all involved helps us as healthcare providers with our overall goal of maintaining comfort/symptom management throughout the dying process as well.
HSPN: What’s your favorite part about your job?
Ryder: We get one chance to make a positive impact in how our care will be described by a family in their years to come, and I strive for their hospice journey to be spoken about highly. I am truly honored to be a part of a patient’s care; to provide quality comfort care, while also learning about their lives and accomplishments. My hope is that their families can look back on their hospice experience and feel they received the best care possible, and to encourage others to seek services if/when the time comes.
HSPN: What do you want the general public to better understand about your job and the industry you serve?
Ryder: The word “hospice” is often associated with negative thoughts and fears. I wish more people were aware of all that hospice offers for those who qualify. So often, “hospice” is thought of as merely being for those on their “deathbeds” and, unfortunately, miss out on the many services included to aid with their quality of life during the dying process. Hospice care can be so beneficial, not only to the patient, but for the family as well. You have a team of wonderful people working together to ensure you can enjoy the final stage of life to the best of your abilities.
HSPN: What’s something that you wish other people in your organization — particularly leaders who don’t work on the front lines — understood better about your job?
Ryder: The care of hospice patients and their families can often be emotionally and physically taxing for the provider. Completing necessary visits is not always a straightforward or predictable process. It often requires the juggling of various tasks and managing the changing circumstances of multiple patients, all while maintaining a calm and professional demeanor. There can be so much involved to provide patients with quality care and, at times, it can be taxing on the provider themselves. Having a deeper understanding of the pressures faced on the front lines could help leadership support frontline caregivers, set more realistic expectations, and gain insight on how to make decisions at a higher level.
To view the entire Frontline Honors Class of 2024, visit https://frontlinehonors.com/.
