Pediatric Home Health as a New Grad?

pinkiepieRN · May 8, 2014

I've recently graduated nursing school. I've been working in a hospital and have been offered a full time position there. I've planned on working there, but my heart has been in NICU and L&D. I recently saw an opening for pediatric home care in my area, which is very difficult to come by, honestly anything other than geriatric healthcare is difficult to come by! Being that my ultimate goal is to work in a NICU, I was wondering if working in Pediatric Home Care would prove to be valuable experience for that. I was wondering if anybody thought it would be possible to work as a new grad in pediatric home health PRN and at the hospital full time (possibly hospital PRN). Am I setting myself up for failure and trying to do too much at once? Has anybody else worked at a hospital full time and in pediatric home care PRN? If so, can you tell me what your schedule is like? Thank you!

What specialty is the position you were offered in the hospital?

WannaBNursey, ADN, ASN, RN · May 8, 2014

The position is PCU/med-surg at the hospital.

SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN · May 8, 2014

Generally speaking, it's not wise to work home health until you've got some experience under your belt, even if you're doing it PRN. As a new grad, you still have a huge learning curve to overcome now that you're out of school. Functioning as a real nurse is nothing like being a student.

Med-surg will give you that experience and help develop your assessment skills and critical thinking. In a home health position, it's just you, your patient, and your patient's family (in the case of peds). You have no one else to rely in if something goes wrong or if you have questions. In a hospital, there's most always someone to your left and right, and for the first few years, you're going to need that.

WannaBNursey, ADN, ASN, RN · May 9, 2014

This company has a specific program for new grads, and they've dealt successfully with new grads in the past. For each patient an experienced nurse goes along to orient with us before we ever are on our own with a patient.

SoldierNurse22, BSN, RN · May 9, 2014

How long is the orientation?

MBrickle · May 9, 2014

I went into pedi home health and did perfectly fine. I rationalized that if parents could learn their child's care with no formal training and while under duress in the face of a traumatic diagnosis/event, then certainly I could too.

That being said, I'm a self-starter, am NEVER afraid to ask for help when I'm unsure and I research often. Also, I know my limitations - I wouldn't take a patient with a CVL and I wouldn't take a vented patient as my first. Even now there are some kids who make me nervous, but I do feel I can take on more of a challenge now that I've gained experience via different patients over the past 3 years.

That being said, the nursing market in the Boston area is awful, so I had/have no chance of a hospital job. If I got offered a med/surg position then I would have taken that hands down!

SDALPN · May 9, 2014

New grads and home care don't mix. Read the posts from the many times this has been asked. Its just a bad idea.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · May 9, 2014

As someone who does both- I would advise you to first take the hospital job and become proficient at it. I suspect you are REALLY describing a private duty peds position- and trust me- that job will still be there in one, two even ten years. Pediatric private duty is a poorly staffed niche, and there is ALWAYS a need for nurses.

WannaBNursey, ADN, ASN, RN · May 9, 2014

As someone who does both- I would advise you to first take the hospital job and become proficient at it. I suspect you are REALLY describing a private duty peds position- and trust me- that job will still be there in one, two even ten years. Pediatric private duty is a poorly staffed niche, and there is ALWAYS a need for nurses.

Thank you! I was thinking of working for a few months in the hospital first so I could at least be comfortable with one job before taking on another one. Do you think working in pediatric home care, paired with acute hospital experience help to get me a job in the NICU, or is this experience sort of out of the way?

MBrickle · May 9, 2014

New grads and home care don't mix. Read the posts from the many times this has been asked. Its just a bad idea.

Disagree wholeheartedly.

I think there are plenty of patients worthy of new grads, but it's knowing your limitations, being a self-starter and knowing what you feel comfortable with. I wouldn't take a CVL and a seizure disorder. I don't feel comfortable...but standard vents and trachs? Easy. Again, you need to self-start/research and you can slowly gain a great bank of knowledge. I know very many nurses who go into home care as new grads...specifically because the hospital job market is abysmal here.

I still would take a hospital job, particularly med/surg hands-down of offered because it will provide the best foundation. My work in pedi home health was born of necessity for a job, not desire to work in that environment.

MBrickle · May 9, 2014

Thank you! I was thinking of working for a few months in the hospital first so I could at least be comfortable with one job before taking on another one. Do you think working in pediatric home care, paired with acute hospital experience help to get me a job in the NICU, or is this experience sort of out of the way?

Yes! Hospital will give you a foundation and pedi home health will expose you to vent/trach/other critical care skills (albeit with much less acuteness and more stability).

I would go a step further and pay out of pocket for a neonatal resuscitation course as well. Sounds like it would be a great background for NICU, especially if you could get infant pedi home health patients.