Site Description
Hospice of Cincinnati specializes in providing comfort, compassion, and personalized end-of-life care to all those in need. It is the only non-profit hospice provider in Cincinnati. HOC provides care for patients who are considered terminal and are expected to live six months or less if their disease follows its natural course. Many patients outlive this, and HOC ensures that patients are comfortable and that they experience the best quality of life possible. There are a wide variety of services offered by HOC, including medical and palliative care, social work, spiritual care, and non-traditional therapies. A team of physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, home health aides, and volunteers all work to ensure that the patient's needs are being met. HOC provides care for patients in their homes, whether that is a traditional house or a long-term care facility. In addition, patients have the ability to stay short-term in one of the four inpatient units to address acute problems or to give caregivers a break. HOC is also affiliated with the Goldstein Family Grief Center and Fernside, which provide grief support for both adults and children.
Job Description
Because HOC is such a complex organization, it is necessary that the intern spend the beginning of the internship completing orientations and shadowing employees in different disciplines. These opportunities include shadowing physicians, nurses, social workers, and chaplains both in homecare and in the inpatient units. The intern will also attend Interdisciplinary Group Meetings to witness how the team comes together to ensure that the patients' needs are met all on fronts. HOC is also very involved in the community, and the intern will get the opportunity to go to presentations and community seminars with the marketing department. The remainder of the time is spent in the main office in Blue Ash. The education department oversees all of the various departments and disciplines, and the intern will spend time there both learning more about the intricacies of the organization and helping out with ongoing projects. He/she will gain valuable knowledge about end-of-life care and palliative medicine that will be useful no matter which specialty of medicine they choose to pursue.