[brian]

Welcome to the New Private Duty Nursing Forum! This is a subforum of the Home Health Nursing Forum.

We hope you find this forum additon helpful at separating the nursing discussions. Please feel free to post feedback! Enjoy!

[DutchgirlRN]

Thank you Brian I think it's a great idea. I have done Private Duty and enjoyed it and I am currently doing Home Health and enjoy it as well. I find both very rewarding and yet very different. A different philosophy in both areas even though both jobs are done in the patients home. Thanks for the new thread!

[ArwenEvenstar]

Wow! I just realized that there is a private duty (PD) forum now! That is great! I think PD often has special and unique issues. We need a forum! Working shifts at a time in private homes caring for what is generally a severally disabled patient has many implications that you do not encounter as much in other settings. Families struggling to cope. Different families can cope in different (sometimes polar opposite!) ways. Psycho-social family dynamics. Nurses who don't maintain a proper professional boundary can contribute to the dysfunction. Etc.

I was just reviewing some of my old posts, and gee, it sounds like I don't like PD very much. I guess I just tend to post when I need to "vent". I really do like PD! I need to work on being more positive. This March I have been doing PD for 3 years. I am much happier that I was at the hospital. The pay is less but I have my sanity back and am much less stressed - especially in comparison to the hospital.

I switched to a new private duty case back in September, and the family is the complete opposite of what I was used to on my previous case. There is a real "team spirit" approach to caring for their disabled daughter. The family shows me common courtesy and appreciation, often in little ways, but it means a lot. It wasn't quite like this on my past case...And I feel overwhelmed by how well this family treats me. It is not that the previous family treated me bad (they didn't!), but I didn't feel valued or appreciated.

Anyhow...it is great to have our own forum!!

[lc177985]

I am glad you started this new forum. I have been in private duty for 1 year and have faced some of the difficulties that the other nurses have faced. I just can't understand how 1 - family members, even ones who LIVE in the homes with the patient, are so callous to their condition and care. They worry more about your presence/intrusion of their home than the care of the patient. And secondly, how the patient can sabatoge their care. Obesity, incontinence, pressure ulcers, frustrating yes but you just don't give up, keep fighting and make POSITIVE changes!!!!! So that's my frustration in the field. But I really like the 1-1 nursing, the schedule and the flexibility. Thanks for listing, LC