From ER to Home Health

[Wolf at the Door, BSN]

For those that worked as an ER nurse who went into home health what was it like for you? Did you feel comfortable being on your own? was it too slow? more stressful than ER nursing or just at times? Did working in the ER prepare you for home health more than other hospital units?

[oddaud]

I would love to hear some responses to this as well. I've been an ER nurse for over 2 years and am looking to transition to home health.

[nannymcpheeRN]

A critical care or ER background is an asset in HH. You will feel more at ease with sudden acute situations. HH requires good time management and creativity. Good documentation is essential in HH. I left PACU and now work as a case manager RN for HH. I love working one on one, coordination od community resources, the creativity of applying the care plan, teaching (a lot), and driving the back roads to my next adventure with a new pt. The pace is slower, but HH is never boring!!!! Always good material for a book(as truth is truly stranger than fiction)! Best of luck with your decision.

[BabaLouRN]

I think the most difficulty you will face is a total change of goals. In home health, the main objective is keeping the pt OUT of the ER,

[Enid Plathy]

I worked in the ER for 10 years and went to homecare. I've been there 4 years and am happy with it. Your experience in the ED will help you in HH. Since you're working on your own you'll need to make independent decisions without much input, although you will always have supervisors and can calll MDs from the road. I believe you will like HH if you enjoy spending a lot of time alone. Of course you'll see patients and families, but you really won't have a team of nurses that you see on a daily basis. I like that, but it may not suit some. I go into the office every other week or so. The other thing that may be a challenge is the amount of documentation needed. Its incredible. I don't know many people who finish their documentation during their regular working day. Overtime is a given and this seems to be a national problem at the moment. Hopefully it will change at some point. Even though I spend time on some of my days off to catch up, its worth it to me to work from home. I also enjoy this type of nursing which is heavy on teaching. I hope that helps. I like it, but many quit due to charting issues or because they miss chatting with other nurses on a daily basis. Good luck!