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 32:09 Poetry Faith and Grief 37:21 Closing Thanks and Subscribe https://sharibrase-smith.com/ <div class="stack gap-1" style= "border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-direction: column; gap: 4px; --tau-gap-color: #f2f2f2; --color-standard-text: #343434; --color-subtext: #858585; --to-color-invert-value: #85858566; user-select: text; color: #343434; font-family: -apple-system, 'system-ui', 'Segoe UI', 'Helvetica Neue', Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: s