78. I Didn’t Plan This Pause… But It Changed Everything

After an unexpected injury and a couple of months away from the podcast, I’m finally back — and this pause brought more clarity than I ever expected.

In this episode, I’m sharing what happened, what this season taught me, and why The Nurses’ Breakroom with Jenny Lytle, RN is shifting to focus more intentionally on the emotional realities of hospice nursing.

After 20 years in hospice case management, on-call, and leadership roles, one thing has become increasingly clear:

Hospice nurses carry a lot.

Emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually.

This new season will center more on supporting hospice nurses through practical self-care tools, emotional resilience, and honest conversations about what this work really feels like.

I’m also introducing The Hospice Nurse Well-Being Project and inviting hospice nurses to participate in Hospice Nurse Conversations — relaxed, confidential 20–30 minute conversations about the realities of this work.

💛 If you’re a hospice nurse and would like to share your story, you can sign up here:
https://calendly.com/jennylytlern/hospice

Next episode:
Why hospice nurses carry so much — and why it’s not just about the workload

Until next time, remember:

Self-care isn’t selfish.
It’s essential if we want to continue to care for others and live our best lives.

If you're feeling overwhelmed, burned out, or like there’s never enough time, I’ve got something just for you! Head to https://selfcareisntselfish.com to grab your FREE copy of my book, Self-Care Isn’t Selfish: The Compassionate Nurse’s Step-by-Step Guide to Personalized Stress Relief. It’s packed with simple, effective strategies to help you prioritize your needs—without guilt—so you can feel energized, focused, and ready to take on the day. Go to https://selfcareisntselfish.com 

Feeling stressed? Grab my quick and easy Busy Nurses' Guide to Less Stress for practical stress relief that truly fits into your life!  https://www.jennylytle.com/guide

Looking for connection with people who get the stress and self-care struggles of nurses and caregivers? Check out https://thenursesbreakroom.com 

Connect on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennylytlern/

More ways to connect here: https://linktr.ee/jennylytle

Transcript

Welcome Back And Where I’ve Been

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Hello, and welcome back to another episode of the Nurses Break Room with Jenny Lettle R.N. If you've been wondering where I've been the past couple of months, I wanted to start today by sharing a little bit about that because this break wasn't really planned. Earlier this year, I went on a cruise. It was my first one. It was wonderful. However, I ended up with an injury that affected my back and hip. And at first, I thought that it was something small, something that would go away in a few days, but that's not how it worked out. For over a month, I was dealing with constant pain and trouble sleeping and just trying to keep up with my hospice and my home care work and um and doing the bare minimum at home. And if you've ever tried to take care of others while your own body is struggling, then you know how hard that is. And I was going to physical therapy and seeing a chiropractor and getting massages and taking medications, some of them even ones that I didn't necessarily want to take, but I had to do something. And I was just trying to make it through the day. And so the podcast and the newsletter had to pause because honestly, I just didn't have much left to give. But something happens when you're forced to slow down like that and you start to see things a little differently. And I found myself asking some bigger questions. What actually matters most right now? And where do I feel called to focus my time and energy? And what does it really look like to care for ourselves in a sustainable way? Like not just in theory, but in real life. And that led me to the realization that, you know, after 20 years in hospice and case management and on-call and leadership roles, I really care deeply about the well-being of hospice nurses. We do meaningful work and we witness these amazing moments of love and connection and transition, but we also carry a lot, you know, emotionally and mentally and physically and spiritually. And I realized that I want to spend more time supporting the people who do this work. And so as the nurses break room comes back, you'll notice a bit of a shift. And many of our conversations will center more around the emotional realities of hospice nursing and the practical ways that we can care for ourselves while caring for others. And I started something called the Hospice Nurse Wellbeing Project. And through conversations with hospice nurses, I'm exploring what this work really feels like and what sustains us, what challenges us, and what helps keep us going. And along the way, I'll be sharing some simple practical tools to help support your well-being. And so my invitation to you is if you're a hospice nurse listening right now and you have a story to tell, I know you have a story because we all do. And I would love to hear that. So I'm having what are called hospice nurse conversations. And it's just a relaxed 20 to 30 minute talk about the realities of this work. And it's nothing really formal, it's just a chance to share your perspective. And if that's something you'd like to be a part of, you can find the link in the show notes or you can go to calendly.com slash Jenny Lytle R N slash hospice and um and just sign up there to um to have that conversation and it will be kept anonymous. So in the next episode, we're going to be talking about something that I've been hearing again and again in these conversations that I've been having. Why hospice nurses carry so much and why it's not just about the workload. So if you've ever felt more tired than you think you should, this next episode is going to be for you. And before we wrap up, just a reminder for today: if you're in a season where you're just getting through the day, if that's all you're doing, that counts. You don't have to do everything at once. We all have those times when we really need to um reevaluate our priorities. And until next time, remember self-care isn't selfish. It's essential if we want to continue to care for others and live our best lives. Thanks so much. I look forward to you being back with me. And if you're not a hospice nurse, if you think, oh, okay, well, I guess this stuff doesn't apply to me anymore. Let me assure you that the things that we're going to be talking about, the tools, the challenges, um, those are going to apply to a lot of people outside of hospice as well. But I just am changing the conversation a little bit to speak more directly to hospice nurses because that's what I know. And I know there is such a deep need there. So thank you so much for your time. And I look forward to being back with you soon.