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Sherrie St. Cyr is a hospice social worker who blogs at http://www.3zacharm.com and is a co-author of "Online Business Elements". Her heart has stopped twice, and so she believes this is her "3rd" life.

Hospice Social Workers don't have "Typical" Days!

School just started this week, so my summer mornings of a quiet cup of tea followed by a morning meditation have disappeared. Now my morning begins at 6 a.m. with getting my 13 year old son up for school shortly after I wake up myself. After he is out the door (his Dad takes him to school), I have time to check email before getting myself off to work.

I'm a hospice Social Worker, so there is really no such thing as a typical day. In one type of busy day, I may see 5 or 6 patients, spending about 20 minutes with each one. If they are in a facility I will also contact their family and talk with their nurses to determine if there are any concerns the patient may not have voiced. Many of my patients are diagnosed with Alzheimer's and have lost their ability to speak.

Then, of course, comes the paperwork to document my visit.

On another kind of busy day, I may only see one or two patients. If a family is struggling as their loved one nears death, the whole hospice team is available to support them. I may talk with various family members as they need support, or just sit and hold the patient's hand if no family is available to be with them.

Although we are required to make a proposed schedule at the beginning of each week, I seldom actually follow mine. When I say I will be somewhere, it is always with the understanding that I will be there unless I am needed more urgently somewhere else. Flexibility is a big plus in my field!

After work, I take my son to whatever activities he has after school that day - violin lessons or Boy Scouts. Dinner follows his activities, then homework. If there is time, we enjoy watching movies together. Now that school has started, we are trying to get to bed by 10, to get that all-important 8 hours of sleep.

You can read more of Sherrie’s work on her blog at http://www.3zacharm.com