Hospice Nurse Job Description: Duties, Template & Pay (2026)
A hospice nurse is a registered nurse who manages the care of patients with a terminal illness, usually in their homes or care facilities: assessing symptoms, managing pain, coordinating the interdisciplinary team, supervising hospice aides and supporting families through the dying process. Medicare's hospice rules give the RN specific duties and deadlines, from the initial assessment within 48 hours to aide supervision visits every 14 days, so the job description should name them. This page has a hospice nurse job description template, the federal requirements quoted at source, interview questions and pay.
What a hospice nurse does
Hospice nurses work where the patient lives: a private home, an assisted living community, a nursing home, or a hospice inpatient unit. Much of the work is visits and phone calls. The nurse assesses and manages symptoms such as pain, breathlessness and agitation, teaches families how to give medications and what to expect, coordinates with the hospice physician, social worker, chaplain and aides, and is there, often on call, when a patient is actively dying and at the time of death.
BLS and O*NET do not publish separate figures or a separate profile for hospice nurses. They are counted with registered nurses (SOC 29-1141), and all pay and employment figures on this page describe that group. The duties below follow the federal hospice Conditions of Participation, quoted in the next section.
Hospice nurse duties
- Complete the initial nursing assessment of newly admitted patients and contribute to the comprehensive assessment
- Assess and manage pain and other symptoms; give and adjust medications per orders and report to the hospice physician
- Serve as the registered nurse on the interdisciplinary group and coordinate the patient's plan of care
- Review and update the plan of care with the team at least every 15 calendar days, or sooner when the patient's condition changes
- Teach patients, families and facility staff about medications, comfort measures and signs of approaching death
- Supervise hospice aides, including on-site visits at the required intervals
- Take on-call shifts and make urgent visits after hours
- Attend deaths, pronounce where state law allows RNs to, and support the family
- Document visits, assessments and changes in the clinical record
What the federal hospice rules require of nurses
Hospices certified by Medicare must meet the Conditions of Participation in 42 CFR Part 418. The parts that shape a hospice nurse's job:
- Nursing is a core service. Under 418.64, a hospice “must routinely provide substantially all core services directly by hospice employees,” and nursing is one of them. Paragraph (b) says the hospice “must provide nursing care and services by or under the supervision of a registered nurse.” Contracted staff are allowed to supplement employees in extraordinary or non-routine circumstances.
- Initial assessment within 48 hours. 418.54(a): “The hospice registered nurse must complete an initial assessment within 48 hours after the election of hospice care,” unless the physician, patient or representative asks for it sooner. The interdisciplinary group must complete the comprehensive assessment no later than 5 calendar days after election.
- The RN coordinates care. 418.56(a) requires the hospice to “designate a registered nurse that is a member of the interdisciplinary group to provide coordination of care and to ensure continuous assessment of each patient's and family's needs and implementation of the interdisciplinary plan of care.” The plan must be reviewed “no less frequently than every 15 calendar days.”
- Aide supervision every 14 days. 418.76(h): a registered nurse must make an on-site visit to the patient's home “no less frequently than every 14 days to assess the quality of care and services provided by the hospice aide.” The aide does not have to be present. A registered nurse must also make an annual on-site visit to observe each aide performing care.
- Around-the-clock nursing. 418.100(c)(2): “Nursing services, physician services, and drugs and biologicals ... must be made routinely available on a 24-hour basis 7 days a week.” That is why on-call is part of the job.
- Licensure and background checks. 418.114 requires professionals to be legally authorized under applicable federal, state and local laws and to act only within the scope of their state license. The hospice must obtain a criminal background check on employees with direct patient contact or access to patient records, in line with state requirements; where the state has none, within three months of the date of employment for every state the person has lived or worked in over the past 3 years.
This is general information, not legal advice. State hospice licensing rules can add requirements, including whether RNs may pronounce death.
CHPN certification
The specialty credential is CHPN, Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse, from the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center. Candidates must “hold a current, unrestricted registered nurse license” in the United States, its territories or the equivalent in Canada, and have “500 hours in the most recent 12 months or 1,000 hours in the most recent 24 months prior to applying.”
Hospice nurse job description template
Copy this into your ATS or job board, replace the bracketed fields, and delete what does not apply. It is written for a home hospice RN case manager; the section on variations covers other hospice nursing roles.
Job title
Hospice Registered Nurse, Case Manager, [Hospice name], [Territory or city, ST]
Summary
[Hospice name] is hiring a hospice RN case manager to care for patients in [territory], in private homes and [assisted living and nursing facilities]. You will manage a caseload of about [number] patients, make scheduled and urgent visits, manage pain and symptoms, coordinate care with our interdisciplinary team, supervise hospice aides and support families. [Schedule, e.g. Monday to Friday, 8 to 4:30, with on-call every Xth weekend.] [Pay range, mileage rate, on-call and visit pay.] [One sentence on what is good about working here.]
What you will do
• Complete initial nursing assessments for new admissions within the required 48 hours, and contribute to comprehensive assessments
• Visit patients to assess and manage pain and symptoms, and report changes to the hospice physician
• Coordinate each patient's plan of care with the interdisciplinary group and review it at least every 15 days
• Teach patients, families and facility staff about medications and comfort care
• Supervise hospice aides, including on-site visits at least every 14 days
• Share on-call and respond to urgent visits and deaths
• Document visits in [EHR] on [tablet / laptop] [by the end of each day]
What you need
• Active RN license in [state] or a multistate compact license
• [X] year(s) of RN experience [home health, oncology, med-surg or hospice preferred]
• Valid driver's license, insured vehicle and a clean driving record [per company policy]
• BLS [or CPR]
• Ability to pass a criminal background check
Nice to have
• CHPN certification
• Hospice or home health experience
• [Language skills relevant to your patients]
What we offer
• [Pay range], [on-call pay], [mileage reimbursement rate]
• [Orientation length], including ride-alongs with an experienced hospice nurse
• [CHPN exam fee and certification pay]
• [Company device, phone and car allowance]
• [Benefits and eligibility date]
How to apply
[One step. Say when the clinical manager will call.]
Requirements: what to ask for, and what to drop
| Requirement | What to know |
|---|---|
| RN license | Keep it. Federal rules require professionals to be licensed and work within their state scope. Accept compact licenses where your state is in the compact. |
| Hospice experience | Consider dropping it. Home health, oncology, ICU and med-surg nurses bring assessment and symptom management skills; hospice routines can be taught in orientation. |
| CHPN | A plus for staff roles; eligibility needs 500 hours in 12 months or 1,000 hours in 24 months. |
| Driving | Keep it for home hospice. State the territory size and mileage rate. |
| On-call | Be exact: how often, how it is paid, and how many visits a typical on-call night involves. Surprises here drive early quits. |
| Caseload | Give a number or range. Many hospice nurses compare employers on caseload before pay. |
Hospice nurse job description by role
Hospice RN case manager
The template above: a caseload of patients, scheduled visits, care coordination and aide supervision.
Hospice admissions nurse
Focused on evaluating referrals, explaining the hospice benefit, completing consents and the initial assessment within 48 hours. Emphasize communication with families at a difficult moment, and whether evenings and weekends are included.
Hospice on-call or after-hours nurse
Covers phone triage and urgent visits nights and weekends so the service is available around the clock, as 418.100(c)(2) requires. Say the shift pattern, the size of the territory and how the nurse is paid for standby versus visits.
Hospice inpatient unit nurse
Shift-based care in a hospice house or inpatient unit for symptoms that cannot be managed at home. Closer to a hospital schedule; say shift length and ratios.
Hospice LPN
Where state scope allows, LPNs can make routine visits under RN supervision. The initial assessment and care coordination stay with the RN. See the LPN job description.
What hospice nurses earn
BLS does not publish a hospice nurse wage. Registered nurses had a median of $97,550 a year, or $46.90 an hour, in May 2025; the lowest 10 percent earned less than $68,940 and the highest 10 percent more than $137,470. BLS reports RN median annual wages by industry of $91,230 in ambulatory healthcare services and $84,300 in nursing and residential care facilities, against $100,220 in hospitals. Hospice pay often combines a salary or hourly rate with on-call pay, per-visit pay and mileage, so check local hospice postings before you set a range.
BLS counted 3,465,400 RN jobs in 2025, projects 6 percent growth from 2025 to 2035, faster than the average for all occupations, and expects about 180,800 openings a year. BLS attributes the demand partly to the large number of older people, who typically have more medical problems than younger people.
Interview questions for a hospice nurse
1. A patient's pain is not controlled on the current regimen and the family is distressed. What do you do?
A good answer: assess the pain and what has been given, call the hospice physician for new orders, teach the family, and follow up within hours, not days. Hesitancy about opioids in the dying patient is worth exploring.
2. How do you explain to a family what the last days of life will look like?
Listen for plain language, pacing the conversation to the family and checking understanding. This is much of the job.
3. Walk me through a visit at the time of death.
Strong candidates describe supporting the family, the steps the hospice's policy and state law require, contacting the funeral home and team, and caring for the body with dignity.
4. How do you work with a hospice aide whose care you are concerned about?
You want observation, specific feedback, involving the manager and retraining, consistent with the supervision rules. Avoiding the conversation is the red flag.
5. How do you organize a day with six visits and a new admission added at noon?
Look for prioritization by patient need, communication with the team and realistic documentation habits.
6. How do you look after yourself in this work?
Hospice is emotionally heavy. Candidates who have thought about it, and use team debriefs or support, tend to stay.
What it costs to reach a hospice nurse
Hospice nurses are registered nurses, so we use the registered nurse role family. In our 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark it ran a median cost per applicant of $19.08 on Meta, with the middle half of campaigns between $12.76 and $34.84, a blended figure of $20.00 and an 11 percent apply rate. The healthcare and senior living sector as a whole ran a $15.42 median at a 16 percent apply rate, and the all-role median is $13.88.
Across the benchmark, apply rate explains 70 percent of the variation in cost per applicant. For a hospice posting, ask only for the license, years of RN experience and whether the nurse can drive the territory, then call the same day. Cost per applicant is not cost per hire.
Staffing the rest of the team? See the hospice aide, home health aide, social worker, LPN and RN case manager job descriptions, and home care agency recruiting for the hiring side.
The job description is not the job ad
The template is the document for your files and surveyors. The ad has to reach a home health, oncology or hospital nurse who has thought about hospice but never applied.
- Lead with why the work matters, then the practical facts: territory, caseload, schedule and on-call.
- Show pay, on-call pay and mileage. Nurses leaving hospital shift work want to see the whole package.
- Say “hospice experience not required” if it is true, and describe the orientation.
- Keep the form short and call back the same day.
- On Facebook and Instagram, job ads run under Meta's employment special ad category: a location radius of at least 15 miles and no targeting by age, gender or ZIP code. For a hospice territory, a radius around your office usually fits well.
More on the ad itself is in healthcare job ad templates and healthcare recruiting strategies.
Frequently asked questions
What does a hospice nurse do?
A hospice nurse is a registered nurse who cares for patients with a terminal illness, usually at home or in a care facility. The work includes admission assessments, pain and symptom management, coordinating the plan of care with the interdisciplinary team, teaching families, supervising hospice aides, taking on-call shifts, attending deaths and documenting every visit.
What should a hospice nurse job description include?
Include the territory and settings, caseload size, schedule and on-call pattern, pay with on-call pay and mileage, the RN license requirement, driving requirements, the federal duties such as the 48-hour initial assessment and aide supervision every 14 days, CHPN as a plus, the orientation you offer, and how quickly a manager will call.
What are the federal requirements for hospice nurses?
Under 42 CFR Part 418, nursing must be provided by or under the supervision of an RN, the hospice RN must complete an initial assessment within 48 hours of election, a designated RN coordinates care, an RN visits every 14 days to supervise aides, and nursing must be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is general information, not legal advice.
How often does a hospice nurse supervise hospice aides?
Under 42 CFR 418.76(h), a registered nurse must make an on-site visit to the patient's home no less frequently than every 14 days to assess the quality of the hospice aide's care. The aide does not have to be present. A registered nurse must also make an annual on-site visit to observe each aide while performing care.
Do hospice nurses need CHPN certification?
No, it is voluntary. CHPN from the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center requires a current, unrestricted RN license and 500 hours in the most recent 12 months or 1,000 hours in the most recent 24 months before applying. Require it for senior or lead roles if you like, and list it as a plus for staff nurses.
How much do hospice nurses make?
BLS does not publish a hospice-specific wage. Registered nurses had a median of $97,550 a year, or $46.90 an hour, in May 2025. Hospice pay often adds on-call pay, per-visit pay and mileage to a base rate, so check local hospice postings and show the whole package in your job ad.
Can I hire a hospice nurse without hospice experience?
Yes. Federal rules require the RN license and practice within state scope, not prior hospice experience. Nurses from home health, oncology, ICU and med-surg bring assessment and symptom management skills. Build ride-alongs with an experienced hospice nurse into orientation, and say in the ad that hospice experience is not required.
What interview questions should I ask a hospice nurse?
Ask how they handle uncontrolled pain with a distressed family, how they explain the last days of life, what they do at the time of death, how they address an aide whose care concerns them, how they reorganize a full day when a new admission is added, and how they look after themselves in emotionally heavy work.
How much does it cost to recruit a hospice nurse?
On Meta, the registered nurse role family in Boostpoint's 2026 benchmark ran a median of $19.08 per applicant, with the middle half of campaigns between $12.76 and $34.84 and an 11 percent apply rate. That is cost per applicant, not cost per hire. Asking only for license, experience and driving keeps it lower.
Related job descriptions
Hiring hospice nurses?
The description is the document. Getting it in front of home health, oncology and hospital nurses in your territory, and calling them back the same day, is the part we do.
Wage, employment and projection data for registered nurses (SOC 29-1141), the group BLS counts hospice nurses in: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, Registered Nurses (SOC 29-1141; May 2025 wages, 2025–35 projections; last modified 27 August 2026). Hospice nursing duties from the Medicare hospice Conditions of Participation, 42 CFR 418.54, 418.56, 418.64, 418.76, 418.100 and 418.114 on eCFR. CHPN eligibility from the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center. General information, not legal advice. Cost-per-applicant and apply-rate figures: Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark, 891 managed campaigns and 1,334 campaign-months. Read at source 24 September 2026.