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Jana Mitchell has been a hospice nurse for over 12 years. During this time, she’s worked in a number of different capacities within this field. She’s currently a clinical director. I recently sat down with her to discuss her perspective on living and dying well. Jana has a unique perspective on the human experience that most of us don’t have. She cares for people who are at the end of their lives. This gives her the opportunity to see how people die (and how they’ve lived), and to witness the things that matter to them at this point in their lives.
It’s no secret that death and dying are not popular subjects in our culture. While this is the case, there’s value in being aware of our own mortality. In a very real sense, death is perhaps our greatest ally in life. Death is always there to remind us to get on with the business of living, and not waste precious time. To do the things we came here to do – and not put them off until tomorrow. To make every moment count. And make memories while we still can, because we never know when our time here on earth will be up. Knowing we will die one day instills us with a sense of urgency to mend fences, forgive ourselves and others, and focus on what matters most.
Here are a few ideas to keep in mind as you listen to this interview:
“Begin with the end in mind.” ~ Steven Covey
“As a well-spent day brings happy sleep, so a life well spent brings happy death.” ~ Leonardo da Vinci
Show Notes
- Jana began her nursing career at the hospital on the medical surgical unit. She then moved to the code team for about 6 months.
- Code teams are the care providers who rush to a specific location when a patient is experiencing cardiopulmonary arrest (typically elderly patients). They work to resuscitate them.
- While working on her last patient as a member of the code team, she saw that the family wasn’t prepared for their loved one to die, even though the patient had been living with this diagnosis for 10 to 15 years. “They weren’t ready, and that’s what stuck with me.” Even though they knew this day was coming for quite some time.
- Primarily because of this experience, she had a calling to work in hospice.
- She found it to be more in alignment with her overall philosophy of life, and saw that in some cases it’s better to make the patient comfortable during the end of their life, rather than perform life extending measures.
- She entered the hospice field as a staff nurse, then became manager (also known as supervisor or clinical director).
- Hospice is defined as; care in the community. They come to where you live. Its typically when you have a terminal diagnosis of 6 months or less, if the disease runs its course.
- Hospice was originally intended for people dying of cancer. It was then expanded to serve people dying of any disease.
- Medicare discovered that caring for people in hospice vs. the hospital saved money and provided them with a better overall experience.
- “You spend less money and you get more care.” She says about hospice, as opposed to the old way of having people die in hospitals.
- In her experience, how people die is different in rural communities than it is in urban communities.
- She says that in rural communities people are less likely to choose life extending measures.
- Her theory is that in rural communities people see the cycle of life on a daily basis, in agriculture and farming.
- In her experience, people get a calling to hospice because of their own life experiences up to that point.
- “I was raised to believe that there are worse things than dying”, she says.
- “I grew up in a family where you were allowed to do all kinds of wild things”, she says about her childhood.
- Growing up, her best friend at 11 years old had an illness where her life expectancy was 18 years old. Her friend’s parents allowed their daughter to play with the other kids and do everything they did. They let her live her life, knowing that she could have a heart attack at any time. This impressed Jana as an example of how to live your life.
- She says that the things people regret at the ends of their lives are typically unforgiveness, hate, and not mending fences with their families.
- “It’s really sad when someone hasn’t talked to their kid for 40 years and they still don’t get to talk to them before they die.” She says.
One Sentence Summary:
When it comes to enhancing the human experience, there’s a lot we can learn from death — and simply being aware that our time here on earth is finite is perhaps the greatest lesson of all.
Quote of the Week:
It has so much to do with how you’ve lived your life, as how well you die.” ~ Jana Mitchell
Resources Mentioned:
- None in this episode.
Awesome Resources Created Just For You:
- Just Be It! – Improve your performance and your results in any area of your life quickly and easily!
- The Alchemy of Despair – 17 of the most effective techniques I’ve ever encountered for reclaiming your happiness!
- The Magic of Being – Teach your child how to develop their self-image in a fun, entertaining way!
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All the best – health, wealth, and success!
Mark
