As a hospice nurse, Carol Klinger, RN, CHPN, lives with the reality of death every day. But after 13 years serving dying patients and their families, she says it's the most rewarding job she's had in her 39-year career.

"I finally found what I was meant to do," said Klinger, who works for Visiting Nurse/Hospice Atlanta. "It's very different from hospital nursing."

Klinger works Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., calling on patients in their homes or at the organization's inpatient hospice care facility in Buckhead. From 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., Visiting Nurse/Hospice Atlanta provides on-call staff.

"Hospice depends on the team concept, and we have excellent teams that serve the patients and their families," Klinger said.

Each team includes a registered nurse, a social worker, a certified nurse assistant, a chaplain, a pharmacist, a bereavement counselor and a volunteer. "Each member of the team is important, but our volunteers are the heart of our work," she said.

Volunteers provide companionship for patients so that family caregivers can run errands or take a break. "They [volunteers] go holiday shopping for families and pretty much do whatever is needed to help the families in this difficult time," Klinger said.

The teams meet weekly to discuss cases, share information and fine-tune care plans.

"The team and the families work together. It's our job to come and assist, not to take over for the family, and we need to be sensitive to each family's wishes and desires," Klinger said.

Hospice nurses routinely face difficult end-of-life scenarios with patients and their families.

"Dying is a part of life, and our job is to make the patient as comfortable as possible," she said. "We work to relieve the uncomfortable physical symptoms — such as pain, nausea and vomiting, constipation and respiratory distress — so that the patient can do the important work of dying and focus on their loved ones."

Klinger said that being a hospice nurse requires flexibility and a keen knowledge of how to handle difficult situations with respect to each family's beliefs, culture and wishes. The job requires teamwork and a sense of autonomy and confidence. The typical salary ranges from $45,000 to $60,000.

"We're cheerleaders [and] teachers, and we become part of the family," she said. "For me it's not sad; I'm helping patients and their families with this very difficult part of life. It's my job to help the family succeed in knowing that they cared for their loved one in this difficult time."