A Hospice Placement Offers Student Nurses A View Of Children’s Care Rarely Seen On Hospital Wards

When Benedicta Addai-Owusu began her second-year placement with ellenor, a children’s hospice, she was keen to learn more about how care is delivered to children and families in the community. Within her first week, she had gained a clearer understanding of the role hospice services play beyond hospital settings.

Benedicta is a second-year children’s nursing student at Canterbury Christ Church University. As part of her degree, she spent four weeks on placement with ellenor, working alongside the children’s respite team. Student placements are a core part of nurse training, allowing students to apply classroom learning to real-life care. For Benedicta, that meant supporting children with life-limiting conditions and their families, often in their own homes.

Before retraining as a nurse, Benedicta spent almost 20 years working as a nursery teacher while raising her own children. She grew up in a family of six sisters and says caring for children has always come naturally. When her children became more independent, she felt ready to pursue a new career.

“There is something very special about working with children,” she says. “When you see a child who has been unwell start to feel better, and you know you’ve contributed to that care, it’s incredibly rewarding.”

Children’s nursing is a specialist field, caring for babies, children and young people from birth through adolescence. During their degree, students rotate through placements including hospital wards, community services and specialist teams. Hospice placements are allocated to give students a broader view of children’s healthcare, including care delivered outside acute hospital settings.

“When I found out I was coming to a hospice, I felt nervous,” Benedicta says. “I expected it to be emotionally heavy and worried about how I might cope. But the reality has been very different.”

Much of her placement was spent with ellenor’s children’s respite team, joining staff on visits to family homes. There, she saw how care is delivered in familiar surroundings and how strong relationships with families are built over time.

“What really stood out to me was how naturally the team connect with the children,” she says. “They talk, laugh, joke and really listen. I saw children confiding in staff, sharing their plans and their hopes.”

Respite care plays a practical role for families. While children are supported by trained staff, parents and carers are given time to rest or focus on other responsibilities.“If parents don’t get a break, everything can become overwhelming,” she says. “Respite allows families to keep going. It gives them space, knowing their child is safe, well cared for and happy.”

Benedicta says the learning she gained at ellenor differed from hospital placements. While ward-based training often centres on procedures and tasks, her time with the children’s team focused more on communication and supporting families.

“You learn so much by observing how staff speak to families, how they include siblings, and how they approach difficult conversations,” she says. “These are skills that will stay with me wherever I work.”

Alongside her placement work, Benedicta took part in training and team discussions and saw how hospice staff work together. She also experienced the supportive culture within the team.

“This experience has definitely made me consider working in hospice or community care when I qualify,” Benedicta says. “You might not always be able to cure someone, but you can still make a real difference by supporting families and helping improve their day-to-day lives.”

Looking back, she says the placement changed how she thinks about hospice care.

“It’s shown me that hospice care isn’t just about the end of life,” she says. “It’s about helping children and families live as well as possible and supporting them through some very difficult times.”