“This was a calling. I experienced hospice at a young age when my grandfather died from cancer, and I’d seen life end in difficult ways when I worked in the trauma unit. I knew there had to be a better way.”
Nicole Averett, a nurse practitioner at the ECU Health Medical Center, knew from an early age that she wanted to work in palliative care.
Her grandfather was diagnosed with colon cancer and passed away when Nicole was in 7th grade. “He was courageous, and he didn’t want a poor quality of life. At a young age, I witnessed a beautiful death. I spent time with him, I helped care for him and I got to see that people can choose how their final moments can be. That had a lasting impression.”
After a surgery for appendicitis, during which she appreciated and valued her compassionate care, Nicole decided she wanted to work in health care. “I realized I could take care of people who were sick and scared like I was,” she said.
A North Carolina Nurse Scholar scholarship gave her the means to attend ECU, another stepping stone in her path to nursing. “I never even toured ECU, but when I got that scholarship, I decided that’s where I wanted to go.”
After graduation, Nicole joined the surgical intermediate unit, but she knew she wanted to do more. “I wanted to become a nurse practitioner, and I knew I wanted to work in palliative care.”
She attended the University of North Carolina Wilmington and joined the palliative care team in 2014. Now, she helps patients across the hospital and works with a supportive team. “You have to be a compassionate, empathetic person for this line of work,” she said. “We have a lot of fun together and we’re a tight-knit group. Three of my team members have been here more than 10 years.”
Palliative care, while often confused with hospice, does not necessarily mean a patient is dying. “It’s really about living the best you can despite your illness or circumstances,” Nicole said. “The true goal is to help people live the best they can with advanced illnesses. Quality of life can get lost in health care. You need to look at the whole person, and that’s our specialty.”
Nicole said her experience with her grandfather helped her understand that death was a part of life. “We have to deal with it and honor it,” she said. “It’s the norm to not acknowledge terminality, but then you can’t work through things that give you peace.”
Her other grandfather passed away in hospice from Alzheimer’s in his 80s. These experiences showed Nicole what it means to “die well,” and now she’s passionate about making sure everyone knows they have options. “It helped me decide how I wanted to die, but it also made me want to help others understand they have options.”
“How I define dying well isn’t the same for someone else,” she clarified. “I had a patient from Ocracoke who really loved Christmas, and she said being at home with her tree and family brought her joy. Even though it was summer, her family put up her Christmas tree. She didn’t know she could have this joyful experience.”
“A goal of palliative care is to honor a patient’s wishes,” Nicole continued. “Witnessing a peaceful death at home, surrounded by loved ones, really put the itch in my bones to help others. It really is a calling.”
To learn more about palliative care services at ECU Health, visit their website here.