Thinking of giving up school nursing position for Home Health... need advice

Specialties Home Health

Published

Specializes in School Nursing.

I have been working for a year at a school for children with special needs. Although I LOVE working with the kids, I feel like I need a change for many reasons. I work in a health center with other nurses, and while I have learned a lot of skills, I feel that I've hit a plateau. I'm very micromanaged and the pay is horrible... but I love the kids.

Since I don't really have hospital experience or a BSN, hospitals won't look at me.

I'm considering a home health position. It pays almost $20,000 more a year than what I'm making. I think I would enjoy the autonomy but kind of nervous that it would be dangerous going into people's homes. In the interview, she could not tell me exactly what neighborhoods I would be covering only the general area of the city, but when asked about safety issues, she just said there are some low income neighborhoods but if I ever felt unsafe, I could call for another nurse to go with me.

I plan on starting a BSN program very soon. I'm wondering also which experience would look better on a resume if I ever do want to transfer to a hospital... the school vs. home health. Any thoughts? Does anyone working in home health feel like it's dangerous?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/surg, Tele, educator, FNP.

I hated the driving but the autonomy was nice. Just remember you don't the shots in other people's home, this was a shock to me coming from the hospital. To day the least I didn't last in home health, but many nurses love it.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Remember that most home health jobs are during the day so it's light out. Most visits are to elderly homes. If you ever go to a home and don't feel safe you can always ask a police officer or another nurse to accompany you. I only did it a few months and had to go to a couple scetchy neighborhoods a couple times but never felt scared. I think home health would probably look better on a resume for a hospital job just due to the bigger variety of skills you would use.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in School Nursing.

Thanks for the replies! I'm just curious why you both did not last long in home health. This is a salaried position, and while it is a good amount, I have heard that in reality you work more than 40 hrs per week due to the volume and paperwork. I really will miss my school kids and maybe I'm giving up a good thing, but I feel that I'm not going anywhere in that job and need to learn more

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pulmonary, Lung Transplant, Med/Surg.

I left the hospital for home health last September and haven't looked back!

Some nights I'm doing a lot of work at home (were on laptops) and other days I get everything done before I pull in the garage. Just like any job the days vary and you have good days with the bad days. I work inner city an go into sketch neighbors along with wealthy condos, the sketch ones aren't as bad as they seem safety wise, especially in daylight. My husband is a city police officer, he doesn't LOVE my job/location choice but I've been fine. Not once have a thought I shouldn't go into someone's home. 95% of your patients will be elderly. I do carry mace though.

I use skills in home health that had long been left in nursing school. It's a lot of fun for me and everyday is so different. My agency is super flexible, you make your daily schedule for the most part. I do have on call days which I would say is the worst part but its only 3-4x in a 6 wk schedule.

I say go for it! Good luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

When I tried Home Health I was a new grad with only four months experience and I only got one day of training-that's it!! I was per diem and although I never got visits of something I couldn't handle, I had no resources so ,for example, when I would call a pt and tell them I was coming to draw blood and they asked if they had to be fasting I never knew. (This was in the days before computers and the Internet.) Also, I got paid a certain rate per visit but by the time I drove there, saw the pt, did the paperwork, etc it was much less an hour than what I had been making. I was allotted an hour a visit but because they were housebound and so lonely, they never wanted me to leave and I had trouble getting out of their houses in a timely manner. I also like a faster pace. However, it's different now. They do orient people more and with so many people being discharged from the hospital sooner they utilize home health nurses more. I sometimes think about trying it again someday now that I have a lot more experience .I also worked in the schools for many years and know exactly how you feel about not growing or going anywhere. Also, it will be a definate pay raise for you. I think this would be a good step in the direction you're wanting to go!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in School Nursing.

I guess I'm scared that this full-time salaried position will turn into working 24/7 due to all of the mountains of paperwork I hear about. I also want to do the RN to BSN online this year and my current job is pretty easy and laid back and we get tons of time off during the year, so it would be a perfect gig for someone wanting to go back to school, however, I don't think I would be able to afford the tuition because I can't even pay my bills on what I'm making at the school.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Home Health, MS, Oncology, Case Manageme.

First of all, if your interested in a flexible RN-BSN program with affordable tuition, check out .

I have been in home care for 11+ years. There was only a handful of times that I felt unsafe and it was because of the neighborhood, not the patient. I wouldn't let safety get in the way if you want to do home care.

As far as the paperwork, home care requires a lot more than other specialties. Thankfully, most nurses have laptops now and that makes it easier. You get faster with the paperwork, the more you do it. You're right that you won't have "time off" like the school job, but if you want to be challenged and really use your nursing skills, do home care. Hopefully, most employers realize that home care nurses are doing almost all the skills that hospital nurses do. I don't think an employer really understands what school nurses do. So I'd have to say home care looks better on a resume.

Nursing in the community, such as home care, is where the jobs are going to be in the future. The specialty of home care is growing rapidly and will continue to do so. It is getting harder and harder for nurses to break into the specialty without having experience. If you have a job offer, that's great. Since school nursing is your only experience, if you continue with it, you may find it hard to move into another kind of nursing.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in School Nursing.

Thank you so much, paradiseboundRN. That was very helpful. Do you think it is possible working full-time doing home health and going to school (online RN to BSN)? And there is a 6-point per day minimum to meet as far as productivity at this facility. Not sure yet if that is good or bad. SOC's are 2 points for example. The probationary period is 6 months though and you get a week of training with another nurse to drive around and they send you for various training like the computer, wound-vacs, etc.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I am new to home care case management. This week I did four SOCs and they each took about 4 hours. That was including the initial visit with the patient and all the charting on the computer. The first one actually took 6 hours. Everyone promises that will decrease to 3 hours for a routine admit as I get faster. You never know what you will find during a follow up visit. You may go in to assess and do an INR and find other needs that have to be addressed. I love it. I love the drive time between patients as time to myself and you fall in love with the patients. Be flexible.

One week isn't a lot of time to do ride alongs if you have never been in home health. Try to get out with several nurses so you van see different styles. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.

Every day I think, "I can't believe I get paid to drive around and visit interesting people and take care of them" I feel very blessed.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I am considering home health nurse jobs. I was under the impression that I would only get the same patient every day at the same time. Is this true? Would I have to drive to all of these various locations? I really want an answer. I know a woman whose daughter is on trach/vent care in her home and the LPN stays with her all day long and she is paid to do this. I thought that is the kind of job I would get if I were a home care nurse----one patient, all day. Is this true or am I wrong? Please respond. I really want to know before I go into this line of nursing what I will be doing.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in School Nursing.

There are different types of home health. What you are referring to is I believe called extended care home health, or private duty nursing. This is where you take care of one patient in a home on like 8 or 12 hour shifts. The other kind of home health is like a visiting nurse. You see many patients per day but are not at their home for a long period of time. I'm sure these jobs you are considering will be able to answer those questions for you. It sounds like you are interested in pediatric home health and this is usually the extended shift work where you are with one patient all day, or all night

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment