Hospice Nurse Cover Letter and Writing Tips

A strong hospice nurse cover letter can greatly increase the impact of your resume. While resumes tell employers about what you can do, cover letters show them who you are. Below are some tips on writing a cover letter for a hospice nurse, and a sample that puts our tips into action.

Show Your Attention to Detail

Attention to detail is one of the most important qualities for a nurse to have, and your hospice nurse cover letter is one of the first times you get to show yours. Triple check for correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. How can the hiring team trust an applicant with administering the correct dose of a medication if their apostrophe isn’t in the right place?

It’s also a good idea to include the hiring manager’s name. This shows you’re serious enough to do some digging. Also, quantify when you can — mention your years of experience, your manageable patient load, and the amount of times you’ve completed important procedures.

Highlight Your Qualities Unique to Hospice Care

Understandably, people associate healthcare with healing that improves a person’s quality of life or keeps them alive. As a hospice nurse, one of your goals is to promote a patient’s well-being while assisting them in their last phase of life.

You’ll need a different mindset than most specialties, and your hospice nurse cover letter should reflect that. Consider your competencies related to the following questions:

• Are you willing to uphold your patient’s wishes as they live out the last days of their lives?
• Are you knowledgeable about end of life options such as cremation or burials?
• Can you effectively manage situations in which the patient is ready to transition while their family wants them to continue living?

Prioritize Your Most Relevant Experiences

It’s unlikely you’ll be able to fit all of your experience into your hospice RN cover letter. For the sake of brevity, stick to the hospice jobs in which you’ve achieved the most significant accomplishments.

If this is your first hospice nurse job, emphasize professional experience in which you assisted with end-of-life care if possible. The hiring team is measuring your likelihood of success in a specific role, not just any job. They’ll weed out what isn’t relevant anyway, so focus on what they would prioritize.

Hospice Nurse Cover Letter Examples

Reading examples can clarify what you should include in your cover letter. You can review a general nursing cover letter or take a look at our hospice nurse cover letter example below for even more inspiration.

Maya Assefa, RN

123 Juniper Lane

Jefferson City, MO 65101

555-555-5555

firstlast@email.com | linkedin.com/mayaassefa

La Tierra Douglas, MSN
890 Weeping Willow Walk
Jefferson City, MO 65101
Dear Ms. Douglas,

In my two years of experience with hospice nursing at Spruce Home, I honed the unique qualities necessary to be a compassionate hospice nurse. I advocated for patients’ needs and desires even when they didn’t align with their families’ wishes. I also helped grieving families transition into acceptance by actively listening and providing them with resources to help them address their grief. Despite the somber nature of this role, helping patients and families through those difficult times has been incredibly profound and rewarding.

I also have six years of experience working as a palliative care RN at Palm Tree Hospital where the majority of my patient population was critically ill. In this position, I developed my resilience and emotional intelligence while caring for patients experiencing intense suffering. I learned how to be truly present instead of simply completing tasks related to the patients’ medical needs.

My ability to remain calm under pressure — while juggling conflicting emotions within myself, coworkers, patients, and families — would be a positive addition to your staff. My ample experience, empathy, and conscientiousness ensure that my patients will have the peaceful transition they deserve while in my care.

I appreciate you for your time, and I look forward to further discussion in the interview.

Sincerely,

Maya Assefa, RN

Hospice Nurse Salary

When seeking a new job, it’s important to know what the standard pay is. In the U.S., hospice nurses make between $75,390 and $94,589 annually. The average salary for a hospice nurse is $82,689 per year. To get a better idea of what registered nurses earn in this position, look at the current hospice RN jobs on Intelycare.

Put Your Hospice Nurse Cover Letter to Work

Take the next step toward your future job by drafting a cover letter that reflects what you have to offer. Once you’re ready to look for open positions, you can search for hospice nurse jobs on IntelyCare.