I start HH tomorrow!

paradiseboundRN · Jan 24, 2013

The Oasis/ROC/SOC are documents that the nurses need to fill out at certain time periods in their care. Its really to complicated to explain without an understanding of home health. If you are paid per visit, then the documentation time is part of the pay, which is why I hate paid per visit. It depends on the agency, but when I was hourly, I was paid for documentation time at home. Either way, you do get paid per hour for meetings. There isn't much to do in the office, but drop off paperwork and pick up supplies, so most nurses avoid it. When I was hourly I did get paid for it.

capri5 · Jan 26, 2013

homehealth nursing has become in demand for sure it is not a joke. with hospitals discharging patients within days of surgeries and such related to insurances not paying there is no time for patients to be taught disease process and post op any longer .alot of these people do not know their meds diet or what it takes to stop exacerbations of disease .in homecare all skills of nurses are still used woundcare ostomy teaching , infusions ,monitoring , reporting declines to md ,blood draws and lab collections ect ect ... i believe more sklills are used as you are working alone have noone at the home with you and critical thinking and decisions are needed to be made it takes a strong nurse for this field and a nurse with good skills as in hospital settings you have respitory dept lab techs and code teams you only have yourself to do all these skills in a home setting you are everyone and one person .rewards are great as you spend one on one with the patient and often the families you also get to see your results as you have the pt more than 3 days and self reward is high when you have made a difference. THANK GOD for homecare nurses they are a special kind of nursing and people:)

RN_Mommy_2_3 · Jan 26, 2013

Hi everyone! As you all know I just started HH earlier this month and WOW what a difference from the hospital scene but I'm so far enjoying learning and the pt interaction. I've been doing my own visits and at times have felt overwhelmed with all the documentation & organization but I feel as I get more familiar with all the paperwork it'll become easier....the agency I work for is still paper charting but will be having to go electronic this year, hopefully that will solve a lot of the repetitive paper charting! Anyhow, so far I'm glad I've made the move the 1on 1 patient interaction makes it all worth it and so rewarding for me! I'm still trying to find the best organization technique so if any of you have any tips on staying organized with all the paperwork and charts please share!

WeirdNurseKelly, BSN, RN · Jan 27, 2013

HH is an amazing opportunity. I have been a nurse for 2 1/2 years. The last 11 months in HH. It can be crazy at times but then it can be very relaxed and easy at times too. It is predictable yet unpredictable. The patients are AMAZING. I love being able to see my patients and the progress they make when I am caring for them. I see anywhere from 5-7 patients daily (7 if I do not want to push someone off on the weekend or do not have an LPN available to see a pt) but 7 rairly happens. We are a growing agency and will be getting more staff soon.

I am pregnant with my first, I am due in April. One of the best parts that I like is being able to be in control of my schedule (about 95% in control). You do have meetings at the office and have to kind of work around your patients schedules too but for the most part the patients are pretty flexible (at least what I have found, in most cases). I have my days set up to where they are very routine. I have organized my schedule to where I kind of know what patients I see on what days. Makes scheduling much easier.

I found the first 6 months the hardest in getting organized with scheduling and charting. But now, 11 months in, A LOT of my charting is done in the home. I went from 67% on time charting 2 months ago to 90+% on time charting now. I know that is bad but with being pregnant and exhausted at the end of the day, gahhhhhh. Most of the late charting is from my starts of care of my Friday visits. But it is getting better and easier. And then you have weeks where things just are crazy, they do get better.

I always saw myself as working on med-surg or in the ER. I find it hard to imagine what it would be like to have to do shift work. Right now, for me, this is so much better. I can start at 10 AM if I want, that does mean I work later in the day, but the upside is I get to sleep in a little. Good luck in your home health adventures!!!! They will be exciting. Oh and one thing I have learned, be prepared for ANYTHING. There are some pretty shocking things you will see that will make you put the palm of your hand to your head, shake your head and then sort of laugh a little. You will see so many different things in home health. GOOD LUCK!!