Figuring it would be depressing to be caring only for patients on the brink of death, Merlyn Burgess said she was not attracted to being a nurse in Agape House.

She went to the help out her friend and fellow nurse Karen Dyer, whom she had worked with on the Intensive Care Unit at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH).

"It was about six months after it (Agape House) had opened. Karen asked me to do some work and as a personal favour I did," said Ms Burgess. "I didn't think I'd like it, but I did and so I stayed and I'm still here."

Ms Burgess said she had figured that with people dying all the time, Agape House would be full of sad people and carry a depressing atmosphere.

Happily she said those feelings are not pervasive in the hospice. She said most of the patients have come to terms with their illnesses by the time they reach Agape and the job of staff becomes one of making their life as comfortable as possible.

"I always think of the patients as if they were my relatives," she said. "I think how I would want my mom or dad treated and I give that level of care."

She said she enjoys the sense of family she has at work with colleagues, patients and the families of patients.

"We've got great nurses aides, and orderlies and dealing with patients and families can make a big difference," she said. This atmosphere is the main reason she's stayed on at the hospice but she admits that the work can be draining and when she's at home she focuses completely on her personal life.

"I don't take my work home with me," she said. "I do need my time off and I've learned, especially from working here, the importance of taking care of myself.

"I do 12-hour shifts, which works out very well I think. It means in two weeks, I never work more than seven days."

To further ensure nurses in the unit do not get stressed and fatigued at work, none are allowed to work more than three days in a row.

Asked if the deaths upset her, she said: "They are usually ready to die by the time they come here, and you've seen them in such discomfort. You do get attached to patients but it makes you feel good that you've been able to help them."