They Sit With the Dying: Why Hospice Volunteers Matter

What do hospice volunteers do, and why are they such an important part of end-of-life care? 

I've worked in hospice for quite a long time. I started out as a hospice volunteer in 1982. It was the very beginning of hospice care in the US. In those days, I volunteered much of my time -- I gave 20 hours a week as a supportive nurse to the one newly hired RN.

Why did I want to be involved in hospice care? Why did I give so much of my time? I really don’t know. I just knew I was drawn to end of life work, that I felt I had something to offer, and that I really, really wanted to do this work. I’ve since learned that most of us who volunteer or did volunteer for hospice are drawn to it and are doing it because we are almost compelled to it — to help, to guide, to support.

What do hospice volunteers do that makes it so soul-driven? I think there is a desire to help, to be of service. BUT I think deeper than that is something within the person themselves. Something, maybe from a past experience with death, maybe they are curious or even fearful about death.

Because there is generally something strongly encouraging us to pursue the end of life field, we first need to know why we want to be a  volunteer working with the dying. We need to know the why because we will bring our personality, our beliefs, our experiences and yes, our fears with us as we reach out to help others. Those “whys” will influence the care and help we offer. We cannot help others at the end of life until we understand what we bring to it.

So, the first part of volunteer training needs to be, “why are you here?”  Follow that question and discussion with, “what are your previous experiences with dying and death?” The premise of starting training with these questions and discussions is that we clean our own houses before we can effectively help and be of service to others. (Particularly in this little-understood and often much-feared part of living).

With those questions explored, the volunteer training staff can proceed to teaching the hospice concept, what is expected of volunteers, signs of approaching death, communication and listening skills, grief dynamics, and what the role of the volunteer is in this process of care.

Hospices cannot give comprehensive quality care without well-trained volunteers. Why? Because volunteers offer what few on the team have enough of: time and presence. Time is a precious commodity for most hospice professionals. Volunteers offer listening time, companionship time, and supportive time. Volunteers offer what few on the team have enough of: time and presence.

Hospice volunteers are an essential part of a quality hospice.

Something more…

If you feel drawn to this work, or are already walking alongside someone at the end of life, I encourage you to get The Final Act of Living, my resource that many hospices use to train their volunteers. In honor of National Volunteers I am offering a 30% discount on this book.