192: Cynthia Cisneros on Home Hospice, Symptom Management, and Team Support

192: Cynthia Cisneros on Home Hospice, Symptom Management, and Team Support

Host Marie Betcher, a registered nurse and former hospice nurse, interviews Cynthia Cisneros RN in episode 192 about her nursing career and hospice experience. Cynthia describes studying at UCLA, earning a nursing degree in 1981, and working in orthopedics, pediatrics, oncology, and with early AIDS patients before moving into home health and then hospice, where she was mentored by a pioneer nurse, Margaret, and later worked in palliative care and home hospice evaluations. Cynthia emphasizes that families often wish they had started hospice sooner because it brings peace through symptom management, education, and emotional support from the full interdisciplinary team, including social workers, chaplains, pharmacists, and volunteers. She discusses the benefits of home hospice—control, no visiting hours, and 24/7 on-call nurse support—along with concerns about inconsistent comfort-med dosing in facilities and the need for education, including reassurance that morphine provides comfort and does not kill patients.

00:00 Welcome and Disclaimer

00:43 Meet Cynthia Cisneros RN

02:40 From Oncology to Hospice

03:58 Why Hospice Helps

05:37 The Hospice Team

06:37 Volunteers and Nurse Humor

07:43 Home Hospice Benefits

10:13 Morphine Myths and Facilities

13:19 On Call Support at Night

14:21 When Death Often Happens