The good, the bad, and the ugly about home health

[Good Morning, Gil]

Hello to all home health nurses!

I moved this from the specialty forum since there were no replies. I don't think as many people check the specialty areas as much lol. Anyway...

I am a newer nurse and work in the ICU now. Home health has always interested me ever since the few clinicals I had experienced in home health as a student. I really love my job in the ICU now since I am learning a ton, and get to provide the kind of care I want to provide for my patients with the lower ratios. I am interested in home health not in the immediate future for that reason (since I do intend to stay where I am now, but possibly down the road when I have a family/school-age children). How are the hours? I think having years of experience in acute care would help me; I know some people do it, but I personally wouldn't be as comfortable being a brand new nurse working in home care since you have to be completely independent. I don't know, though, I really like the ICU, so I may want to try to do both somehow in the future (maybe doing one just PRN and the other part-time to keep my experience varied).

Also, anybody work 2 different nursing jobs, have a family, and find that your schedule works out? I think it would be kind of nice to have a varied nursing experience from week to week, help prevent burn-out in one area. Today, for instance, I go to work, and I got to teach my new diabetic management of their disease. Tomorrow, I may just have a terminal wean or someone go to the OR emergently, etc.

Are the hours conducive to family life? Anybody just work home health just 2 days a week? I really enjoy educating patients, so I feel like there would be more opportunity to do this here. I really think I would enjoy the autonomy home care provides (that is why I love the ICU, more standing orders, etc). Also..safety issues. Do you feel safe on a day to day basis going to patients' homes? Safety probably is my biggest concern; I don't want to feel threatened going to work every day.

Hope you all have a good shift, and thanks for your wisdom!

[nursearoo]

Ugggh! I have been doing home health for quite a few years and it has it's many positives, but also negatives......families not telling you of any new MD orders or changes, and finding out AFTER the fact.....also having teenagers trying to tell you how to perform your nursing duties......can be really aggravating at times....I actually had a teenage girl of 14 who is my patients aunt talk as if I wasn't even there......patient kept passing gas, and would make comments to the grandparent.." is xxxx sitting in a poopy diaper?" and when I was checking vs, the aunt would say something like " does xxx have a temp?" ...one time a while back the patient had a temp & as I was writing on the MARS to give some Tylenol..the teenage aunt runs to the parent to tell the patiet had a temp...and made me quite ****** because I hadn't even got up yet to go let the parent know...this was literally all within 1 minute...so I hear "can you come here for a second?" by the parent.....kind of made me feel like the aunt was trying to make me look like I was not doing my job......I was very mad....I wanted to say "look here you little xxxxxx, let me do my job & you just be the kid"..of course I bit my tongue....but stuff like this can really make you dislike your job at times......now I do mmy job very, very well...I have a couple of patients I have been with since they were 1st home...and the families actually request me to work there full time because I take such good care of their kids......You have to just sometimes let things not try to aggravate you but there will always be something or someone to make you dislike your job at one time or another.........