How Hospice Works Affects My: Priorities

This post is on how hospice work affects my priorities. Specifically, I'm talking about priorities related to home/work balance. This issue can be a slight point of contention with people I care about.

Before you think anything, let me explain. I understand that boundaries need to be set between my job and me to prevent burnout and healthy relationships outside of work. I do my best to do this, but I'm still learning, so my work sneaks up on me occasionally. I know this is something I need to continue working on. The thing that makes it hard is that I really enjoy my job and people tend to think about the things they enjoy. You can start to see my dilemma, here.

I think that this issue is compounded by the fact that I see clients and families at one of their most vulnerable moments. By the time they are involved with hospice, many of them have tried all other treatments and they see hospice as "giving up", which it is not. They just want themselves, their mom, their dad, brother, sister, or spouse to be comfortable. That is really where hospice workers shine the most. As a music therapist, I tend to get some special treatment, I admit. Many people, even if they do not understand that what I'm doing with them is therapeutic, enjoy and look forward to my next visit. People I visit benefit from my visits, which makes me feel better, which makes me enjoy my job more. See how this cycle continues? I see people when they need the most help, whether that is a physical, legal/financial, spiritual, or emotional issue they are dealing with. As a hospice worker, my heart naturally wants to help and be with these people and be there for them. I want to give them all the treatment they need, but there are not enough hours in a day to accomplish that task.

This can manifest itself in my everyday life through the choices I make regarding vacation time, travel schedule, my weekly schedule, and extra activities. As I said before, I know I should not be thinking about work all the time when I'm not on the clock. I am trying to be better at it, and I think this blog is helping me to regulate that through critically thinking about my work/home habits. If you have any tips or stories about how work, whether you're a music therapist, hospice worker, or have a completely different job, please let me know.