HopeWest, the nonprofit organization in Western Colorado, and the Colorado Mesa University (CMU) Nursing Program teamed up on Monday Oct. 7 to train nursing students in hospice care. The training gave nursing students the skills necessary for hospice care including empathetic and technical skills.

The training put nursing students through end-of-life situations in a simulation lab to prepare them for hospice care. HopeWest and CMU Nursing wanted to give students the opportunity to pursue a career in hospice care by creating the simulation.

Hospice care not only requires the ability to comfort those faced with the inevitability of death, but it also involves assessing the patient’s medical and physical needs.

Hospice care training is unique because it involves psychological and emotional skills in order to comfort the patient and the patient’s family.

When hospice care is needed in a patient’s life, it is common for family, extended family and family friends to be involved. It is important for hospice nurses to work with and communicate with the patient’s family and friends. It is especially important that hospice nurses use empathy to put aside differences in order to make the patient feel as comfortable as possible during that time.

“Training in hospice care is important for those in the nursing program. It gave me a better understanding of the field and further prepared for me real life scenarios” nursing major Lily Pierce said.