Penny Hawkins Smith

Penny Smith, BSN, RN, is a (US) nationally certified hospice and palliative care nurse with 20 years of experience. Penny has worked in a variety of care settings and roles within hospice, including inpatient, home case management, education, quality, and regulatory. She recently retired.

Penny is a passionate advocate for hospice education with a mission to normalize the end-of-life process to remove the stigma and fear around hospice care, death, and dying. During the pandemic, she found her way to social media and discovered a unique way to utilize her death care expertise to provide education to a worldwide audience at a grassroots level. Using a variety of teaching styles, including TikTok trends, dark humor, dancing, and storytelling, Penny has gathered over 2 million followers across her social media platforms. You can find her on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube as @hospicenursepenny.

Penny has 3 adult children and 5 grandchildren. She currently makes her home in an off-grid cabin on a mountain in Eastern Washington with her husband, Randy, Pam the cat, and Kevin the cattle dog. She loves to garden, cook, and go on cruises.