5 Questions with Palliative Care Nurse Taylor Kerr

Tell us a bit about your role and what inspired you to pursue a career in palliative care?

My name is Taylor and I’ve worked in Palliative Care for many years; as a Community Health Nurse in Newfoundland, a Palliative Care Consult Nurse at Yarmouth Regional Hospital, and currently as the Clinical Nurse Educator for Palliative Care for the Western Zone. Like many of my colleagues I’m drawn to “Transitional Nursing”; helping patients navigate births and deaths. The longer I work in this field, the more I realize the importance of increasing awareness of the incredible things our Palliative Care teams have to offer.  
 
What common misconceptions do people often have about palliative care?

Palliative Care is a highly stigmatized specialty, which means patients often come to us very late in their journey. I wish more clinicians and patients knew that seeking early Palliative Care services could help improve quality of life, reduce anxieties around death and dying, and in some cases even extend their life.  Palliative Care encompasses so much more than the final days and I look forward to the day there is less hesitation and fear around accessing our services.
 

What in your experience demonstrates the value of palliative care to someone unfamiliar with it?
 

A mentor once told me that palliative care is a high-stakes job because we only get one chance to help patients have a “good death”; I think that this is the true value of Palliative Care as a specialty. Understanding the patient’s goals and wishes is a vital part of planning for a “good death”, and this is where the expertise of our palliative care teams truly shine.  We have the privilege of knowing patients at their most vulnerable, supporting them through their biggest fears, and helping them leave a legacy that is meaningful to them.  
 

What do you wish people knew about Palliative Care? 

I wish more people knew how resource-rich the specialty of palliative care is. There are so many amazing resources available in Canada for both patients and practitioners if you know where to look. For Patients I would recommend accessing the Canadian Virtual Hospice online.  And for practitioners in Nova Scotia I would recommend our library guide for a plethora of incredible links and resources!

I also wish more clinicians knew about the “Surprise Question”, which means reflecting on someone you know (a patient, relative, etc.) and asking yourself if you would be surprised if they died in the next 12 months. If you wouldn’t be surprised, it likely means it’s likely a good time to incorporate a palliative approach. I’ve found using the Surprise Question has helped broaden my perspectives and has led me to recommend the palliative care team earlier in a patient’s journey, and I wish more clinicians would incorporate this question into their care planning.

Can you share a moment from your work that has stayed with you?
 

My favourite part of being a palliative care nurse is conducting life reviews, because there’s always something unique and surprising to uncover. I’ve had patients casually tell me they were present for major historical events, flew fighter jets, built cars from scratch, worked and lived in different countries around the world, you name it! It’s such a privilege to hear these stories and understand how they shaped the person in front of you; I know I’ll carry them with me forever.