How To Become A Hospice Nurse

How Long to Become: 2-4 years

Degree Required: ADN or BSN

Optional Certification: Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse (CHPN)

Hospice nurses provide end-of-life care for patients in their final months. The work is emotionally demanding and, for many nurses, deeply meaningful. Here is what the job involves and how to get into it.

Key Takeaways

• Earn an ADN or BSN, pass the NCLEX-RN, and gain hospice care experience.
• Certification as a hospice and palliative nurse is optional but valued.
• Hospice nurses average about $77,000 a year, and RN jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2024 to 2034.

What a Hospice Nurse Is

Hospice nurses care for terminal patients in roughly the last six months of life, working in homes, hospice settings, or hospitals. The work overlaps with palliative care but is not the same: palliative nurses support patients at any stage of illness to improve quality of life, while hospice nurses work only with patients at the end of life.

The focus is comfort. You ease symptoms, manage medications, handle wound care, and provide emotional support, collaborating with physicians, social workers, and caregivers to support both the patient and the family.

Steps to Becoming a Hospice Nurse

Start by earning a nursing degree and an RN license. You can take the ADN or BSN route, though employers often prefer a BSN or higher. After gaining hospice or palliative experience, many nurses pursue certification.

Earn an ADN or BSN. The ADN takes two years, the BSN four. A BSN helps with advancement, higher-level roles, and graduate study, and ADN holders can later finish a one-year RN-to-BSN program.

Pass the NCLEX-RN for licensure. The exam covers nursing skills, safety, medication and treatment administration, patient testing and sampling, communication, and legal and ethical practice.

Gain hospice experience. Entry-level work is available at hospice facilities, home health agencies, nursing homes, and hospitals, and you can build experience through internships and volunteering.

Consider certification. It is not mandatory, but it demonstrates your knowledge and commitment to the specialty. The Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC) requires 500 hours of RN experience in hospice or palliative care in the past 12 months (or 1,000 hours in the past 24 months), a current unencumbered license, and a passing exam score.

Hospice Nurse Education

Both routes lead to RN licensure. The right one depends on your background and goals.

ADN Degree

An ADN takes half the time of a BSN, and programs tend to be less competitive and more affordable. It meets the minimum eligibility for the NCLEX-RN and licensure, though employers prefer or require a BSN for higher-level roles.

• Admission requirements: High school diploma or GED, math and science classes, 2.0 GPA or higher
• Curriculum: Nursing skills, communication, nursing principles, legal and ethical considerations
• Time to complete: Two years
• Skills learned: Administering medication, using medical equipment, treating wounds, monitoring vital signs and patient condition, updating records

BSN Degree

Beyond the ADN curriculum, a BSN covers nursing theory and practice, leadership, research, and evidence-based practice. That depth is why many employers prefer BSN-prepared nurses, and it makes a later master of science in nursing (MSN) easier to pursue.

• Admission requirements: High school diploma or GED, math and science classes, typically a 3.0 GPA or higher
• Curriculum: Nursing skills, leadership, data and research analysis, communication, legal and ethical considerations
• Time to complete: Four years
• Skills learned: Medication administration, wound care, monitoring vital signs, applying evidence-based practice, basic nursing analytics

Licensure and Certification

You need an active RN license to work in hospice. Maintaining it requires continuing education through approved conferences, classes, or webinars.

Specialty certification is not required but is a valuable credential. The HPCC offers the certified hospice and palliative nurse (CHPN) credential, with the same eligibility noted above: at least 500 hours of hospice or palliative experience in the past 12 months or 1,000 hours in the past 24 months, a current unencumbered RN license, and a passing exam. CHPNs renew every four years by meeting practice-hour and continuing-education requirements, completing an application, and paying a fee.

Working as a Hospice Nurse

Hospice nurses work in homes, hospice facilities, and nursing homes. In a home setting, you teach family and friends how to provide comfort care. Depending on the patient's needs, you collaborate with social workers, clergy, psychologists, and other mental wellness providers.

According to Payscale, hospice nurses averaged $76,589 a year as of September 2025, with pay varying by education, experience, and location. The BLS projects 5% job growth for all RNs from 2024 to 2034, faster than the 3% average for all jobs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a hospice nurse do? Provides end-of-life care to terminally ill patients, focusing on comfort and symptom management while supporting patients and families and coordinating with the healthcare team.

How long does it take? At least two to four years, depending on whether you earn an associate or bachelor's degree. Certification requires at least 500 hours of hospice or palliative experience.

Is hospice nursing hard? It is emotionally demanding and calls for compassion, resilience, and the ability to sit with terminal care. It is also rewarding, because you ease suffering and make patients' last days more comfortable.

What is a hospice nurse? An RN who specializes in end-of-life care. All hospice nurses are RNs, but RNs also work across specialties like pediatrics, critical care, women's health, and orthopedics.