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Becoming a hospice admissions nurse — the complete role guide

The hospice admissions nurse is often the first hospice clinician a patient and family meet. The role blends clinical eligibility assessment, difficult family communication, and paperwork accuracy under time pressure. A great admissions nurse can transform an anxious hospice referral into a family who feels heard and prepared.

By Goodwin Hospice Academy Editorial Team·Published February 16, 2026

A day in the life

A typical day: 2–4 admissions, each 2–3 hours. Each admission includes clinical eligibility assessment, election-statement signing, election-statement addendum discussion, initial plan of care, medication reconciliation, hospice-vs-curative-care family education, DME order-set initiation, and warm handoff to the assigned case-managing RN. High documentation load; strong EHR proficiency required.

Education & licensing

Registered Nurse (RN) with active state license.
Minimum 2 years of clinical nursing experience (hospice, oncology, med-surg, ICU, or ER most common).
CPR/BLS certification.
Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation.

Certifications

CHPN — Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse

Same credential as case-managing hospice RN; signals hospice specialty.

Salary reference

Confirm current hospice admissions nurse compensation on the BLS handbook and MGMA. Admissions RN roles often include on-call and weekend rotations that translate into higher effective compensation.

We never publish specific compensation numbers here to avoid drift. Follow the BLS link in Sources below for current, verified data.

Entry pathway

01Complete 2+ years of RN experience.
02Apply for hospice admissions RN roles — hospices often prefer 6–12 months of general hospice RN experience before moving into admissions.
03Complete an admissions-specific orientation covering election-statement workflow, addendum, LCD frameworks, and family communication.
04Plan for CHPN certification after 12 months.

FAQ

Is admissions harder than case management?

Different skill set. Admissions requires strong family communication under time pressure and comfort with paperwork. Case management requires long-arc relationship-building and complex symptom management. Neither is universally harder — they are complementary specialties.

What if a family is not ready for hospice?

Slow down. The admissions nurse’s job is not to talk a family into hospice; it is to help them understand their options and choose alignedly. If the family declines, refer to the referring team with a warm handoff.

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What is the hospice election statement?

Hospice Eligibility by Diagnosis

Hospice RN

Sources

Educational content only. Confirm current licensure, certification, and compensation data with the linked primary sources.