When JoAnne Chitwood graduated from nursing school, she wasn't sure what she actually wanted to do—until a hospice volunteer at the bedside of her patient told her, "JoAnne, you are a hospice nurse". She had never even heard the term, but she soon realized she was born for the role.

JoAnne has spent the past four decades at the bedside of the dying. In this episode, she shares the profound lessons learned from 40 years of end-of-life care: how to manage terminal anxiety, why death mirrors the birth process, and how "pouring love" into patients can lead to the most unexpected outcomes.

"Hospice has a level of intuition and sensitivity that I have not found in any other area of nursing or healthcare... it’s fabulous."

Hear JoAnne talk about:

• How JoAnne discovered she was "born" for this hospice work
• Why the dying process is a mirror image of birth, as the body begins to "unwind" and nourish itself from within.
• Managing the many different facets of hospice nursing
• Why she doesn’t run from sadness
• Why forty years of witnessing "peaceful" transitions has completely removed her own fear of death.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Please Help Me Die Well Book Series by JoAnne Chitwood
• The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron
• The Medicare Hospice Benefit

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