Finally hired... but home health. please help!

Nurses Job Hunt

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So after 5 months of searching and applying, I finally got a call back from a homehealth agency looking for someone right away. I was ecstatic at first, but now I am scared. they told me to come in right away to get all my paperwork(application, livescan, w-4, etc). Before they even had my paperwork, they had me make my badge and even gave me my uniform along with all the paperwork needed on the cases! The first client they are sending me to requires 7 days a week, 4-5 hours a day. This case is for a LVN and I am an RN. I agreed to do this assignment as they said they have other cases for me as i gain experience. The pay per hour is $22 for the first case(lvn). And the RN cases they have are 12 hour shifts at $40/hr. Is this normal? any tips/help would be great! thank you

Jammin' RN

50 Posts

Specializes in Orthopedics.

I can't tell you if it's normal or not as I've never done home health... But just be weary of a place that wants to hire you so quickly! You need to speak to them about how you are going to be trained. Who will you call if you need help... Not only do you want to protect yourself, you want to protect your patients by not taking on assignments that you can't handle.

Specializes in LTC, SNF, Rehab.

I'm a new grad LPN in NC and I want to work home health, but the agency I spoke to told me they can't hire LPNs or RNs until they've worked as nurses for a full year, regardless of the setting. I want to do pediatric home care. The agency told me they would hire me for peds, or whatever specialty I chose, after that first year and they would make sure I'm fully trained and prepared before sending me out. They have classes and skills labs and have you shadow another nurse before sending you on your own.

I would make sure the agency that hired you will properly train you before sending you on a case. I'd be very uncomfortable if an agency sent me out alone for my first case, and I would probably refuse.

Good luck!

MustDoRn

5 Posts

@ droop...what state are you in? I was hired as an LPN for 6 months and still in the same position as an RN (6 months). I'm in one patient's house for 8 hours. I feel like I'm in a dead end job and I'm scared because I'm not getting any experience with the skills I learned in school. I work NOC shift, and we've been through 8 RN's in 8 months. The type of people they are getting to take this position are seriously burned out or shouldn't be RN's at all. That puts me in company with a class of RN's I want nothing to do with. Plus, the pay is considerably below LTC with no benefits and no sick pay. During the summer, they hired an extra NOC RN to cover PRN. They cut my hours back to provide for this, which I can't survive on. Two weeks later, the new RN quit and last month the other one quit. I've been working 6 days a week for 3 weeks. What I wouldn't give to have a job pay what you will be getting after some experience.

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