Home Health Nurse 👩🏻⚕️
I’ve been a nurse for 23 years and now thinking of getting into home health. Can anyone with home health experience give me some insight on it, maybe pros and cons. Thank you 😊
Pros is flexibility to a degree, something new daily, more skills utilized than in a nursing home, one on one patient care
Cons RNs tend to have poor work-life balance, bed bugs, traffic
I did home health for a year. Some days I was done with work in 6 hours, others 16. It depends on the patients. It’s flexible to a point. Lots of paperwork. You definitely have to be independent in your skills. It’s worth a shot to see if you like it. It just wasn’t for me. Went back to bedside nursing.
I did home health and hospice for a few years, although rewarding in the sense that you are truly helping patients improve their quality of life by teaching them how to manage disease processes better (home health) the job truly has no work-life balance. The computer work is long and tedious, most days I would see patients all day then go home to document and often worked until 10pm
Thank you! Appreciate the feedback
You have the nursing skills, that's the easy part. Being a case manager, RNs are, you have to have a plan for the patient that takes some time to learn how to make. A lot of Medicare paperwork. But a rewarding job.
I did hospice home care for a few years before going back to the hospital to be a Discharge Planner. Pro’s: flexibility (run home to let the puppy out between patients), make your own schedule, could start from home vs. starting from the office, paid for gas mileage, business casual attire, only was on call three weekends/holidays per year, one on one nursing, lots of patient/family education, rewarding to make patients comfortable.
Con’s: Work/Life balance due to charting, ‘exempt’ from OT yet worked 8am-9pm because of charting when I got home and getting late phone calls back from doctors in the community, lower pay and more costly health insurance plan than working for a hospital system.
Thank you for all the great information!
Been in Infusion homecare for 11 years very rewarding! Infusion Nurse Very much a growing field and great pay!
It depends on the type of home health you do. If you are visit-based, it can be kinda sketch...like someone said, bed bugs and work life.
However, I was a private duty RN. I worked for an agency, had benefits and someone to manage my HR stuff, but I went to take care of a child 8 hrs a day, M-F. It’s was primo work hours, great family to work with, clean environment.
The only con was becoming a little bored after a couple of years.
I agree it depends on who would work with or for. I worked as an NICU staff nurse and was forced out because of being at the top of my pay scale snd benefits. It was you can resign or we’ll fire you. So went into home health, work with an agency who lets you choose a client, how many hours you wan/week. No weekends or holiday schedule. But they don’t pay that great. But after working 35 + years of weekends and holidays I was ready or some family time and holiday time with my family, he just recently passed away. He was just like my own. I still miss him everyday.. You jut have to decide what’s important. I cared for a little boy for 9 years
Effective pay rate after figuring in your time at home charting, until midnight some nights, is roughly minimum wage. Tedious Oasis charting and no work/life balance. Home conditions can be deplorable. I was in homes where the nicotine was literally dripping down the walls and thousands of cockroaches were everywhere. It wasn't for me.
Most home health services are doing EMR charting now. Pay rates in home health are usually lower than in hospitals.
Home health was my first job, didn't think I woulda like it, but I definitely did. Tons of paperworks but it is flexible to a point except for Intakes where you have to be within 48 hours.
Home health is my passion. I worked home health for 11 years as a CNA before going to nursing school. Once I finished nursing school I worked home health for 7 years. Home health is a lot of paper work due to federal funding but it is so rewarding because you are able to provide care to patients while building relationships. I only left that are of nursing to have some experience in another area of care. Don't let the amount of paper work scare you off it becomes easier.
Downsides are Lower pay, some homes are unbelievably dirty, sometimes there is no caregiver to help you move a patient. Upsides are you can really make a difference with some people and help them to stay out of the hospital, catch a catastrophe before it happens, and greater autonomy.
Make your own schedule, Incredible autonomy, develop close trusting relationships with patients and family, must have team based approach thought process, bi-weekly interdisciplinary team meetings, just to name a few.
We always need home care nurses ❤
