200 Shari Brase-Smith RN, MS on Hospice Education, Facility Care, and Having Hard Conversations

200 Shari Brase-Smith RN, MS on Hospice Education, Facility Care, and Having Hard Conversations

Host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, marks episode 200 of Hospice Explained with guest Shari Brase-Smith RN, MS, a hospice nurse, educator, and author. Shari recounts her nursing background since 1978 and how the rapid deaths of her husband and mother shaped her understanding of end-of-life needs, emphasizing that even experienced clinicians are often unprepared because healthcare and society focus on curing and avoid dying discussions. She describes why families and facility staff lack clear, practical guidance on what dying looks like, symptom management, and when to involve hospice, especially in nursing homes and assisted living. Shari explains her books are organized for quick, crisis-time answers, highlights the importance of conversations about wishes and forgiveness, and shares her Christian-focused poetry book on grief and hope.

00:00 Welcome and Disclaimer

00:29 Episode 200 Guest Intro

02:27 Shari's Nursing Journey

03:31 Personal Loss and Whirlwind

07:24 Why End-of-Life Education Matters

11:24 Books Filling the Resource Gap

17:02 Eating and Drinking at End of Life

19:17 Starting Hard Conversations

23:27 Forgiveness and Peace

27:28 Helping Facility Staff Work With Hospice