Nurse Family Partnership job

Sorry to here that! I did not get the first public health job I applied for either but after I gained another year of experience, I was hired for this one. Good Luck to you, chin up, something will come along at the right time!:hug:

Sorry to hear you didn't get the job. Keep filling out those applications, something will come along eventually!

Hi everyone,

I have an interview for NFP in New Jersey in 2 days, and was hoping for some insight.

My experience: I'm pretty new to nursing, but have about 3 months of experience in Pediatric home care (private duty)-- where one of the patients I care for is a baby in a very low income household with a bunch of social issues-- similar to the type of family NFP addresses. My other job is in a community clinic for the poor/uninsured population. I really love the people we help and the kind people I work with. So, I do have some experience with young children as well as patients with psychosocial/economic issues.

However, I really don't have any mother/baby, med-surg, or hospital experience. I know that as a nurse home visitor you're working very independently, and I'm not sure how I feel about being completely on my own, having to make decisions without someone to turn to immediately for a second opinion. Does anyone have an opinion on this? Do you think that extensive experience is necessary before doing this type of work? Those who have worked for NFP, if you’re unsure of something (part of your assessment, or who to refer the patient to, or what steps to take), who have you turned to? Have you called your patients’ doctors, arranged for a consult, etc? Basically, do you have a safety net?

A couple other questions:

-- What is the training like? Is it very extensive? (Online it says there’s distance learning and face-to-face, but it’s not very specific)

-- Any idea of what the hourly rate is in NJ? Do they reimburse for mileage?

-- Do you feel that you’re given all the resources you need to be successful? Like education on OBGYN/ nutrition/ where you can refer your patients to for any given issue?

-- How much contact do you have with your supervisors and the other nurses? I’m guessing it’s like most other visiting nursing jobs, where you see patients all day but not too much of your co-workers, is that right? It said something online about “regular meetings” to discuss cases—how often do those happen and are they useful?

Any information would be very helpful :)

Thanks so much.

I'm a new hire for NFP in a brand new office. Training is basically two parts, computer-based and then a week in Denver for hours and hours of classroom work and role playing. NFP has tons of information to provide to your clients. I have 15 years experience in maternal child nursing in the hospital setting, but one of the nurses I work with has only 1 year of maternal child experience and she manages quite well. NFP is very much focused on client and nurse success. They want us to be encouraging and non-judgmental with clients, so that is how we are treated. You will have weekly one-on-one meetings with your nurse supervisor (ours are GREAT and I look forward to them every week) where you get feedback on how you are doing. You also have weekly case conferences where all the nurses meet and either someone presents a client, or it is an educational meeting. Granted, we are a brand new office, so we don't yet spend a whole lot of time in the field, but I get to spend lots of quality time with my coworkers and my supervisor. I LOVE this job. I LOVE my clients. Taking this job was the best decision I ever made. I do get stressed, and I do worry about my clients, but I always feel supported and valued, and I think NFP as a whole contributes to that.

Every office handles salary differently, because you usually don't work for NFP directly but rather an implementing agency. I am salaried (very strange after all those years of clocking in) and we do get reimbursed for mileage.

Thanks for this thoughtful response! It sounds like you really love your job and are completely devoted to your clients. It's so nice to hear how supportive NFP is of their employees, and how willing the supervisors are to guide you. I know from experience, both good and bad, this makes ALL the difference. It's also good to hear that you have weekly meetings with your supervisor, and a case conference. I'm sure these are helpful if you have any concerns you need to raise, and to get a glimpse of other nurses' methods.

I know all the issues are interconnected, but how much of what you do is psychosocial and education-based (counseling on nutrition or quitting smoking, or encouraging a mom to go back to school) and how much is physiological, like physical assessments of mom & baby? Do you feel like there's a good balance between these? I know there's a reason they send nurses out to do the visits rather than a case manager or social worker, so I imagine you're using your nursing knowledge constantly?

Also, do you think time management is an important part of fitting all of your clients in during your work day? I have a habit of spending a lot of time with patients during intakes at the clinic or during a visit (which I do once in a while for the agency), which can be a nice thing, but not good if you're on a tight schedule!

There is a very good balance between the two, I think. When Dr. Olds was first starting the program, they did studies in the first cities. In one city, they used paraprofessionals, and they found that their results were much better when they used RNs. How much of a physical assessment you do sort of depends on what agency you are with, and what that agency's protocols are. I do think I use my nursing knowledge a whole lot, but I"m also having to learn about community resources. The time management has been very easy for us. The model calls for visits that last 1 to 1.5 hours, and so far that hasn't been a problem. It's such a well-structured program that I feel like the kinks were worked out by other nurses long before I came along. When I have a full case load it may be more of an issue, but right now I think the main issue will be scheduling clients by location so I'm not driving all over the county. If you haven't already done it, go to their website and read it, it's got a lot of information about how things work. Maternal and Early Childhood Health Programs | Nurse Family Partnership - NFP

Thank you so much for all the guidance... it was really helpful for giving me a real feel for the job. Had the interview today and I definitely felt like it went well. Then again, they were just really nice people, so maybe everyone leaves that office thinking that! (I did see another applicant there.) I'm sure there are some very qualified applicants, but we'll see. Should find out more in a week or so. Thanks for all the help and I'm so glad you have a job that you love :)

I re-interviewed for this position just 10 months after they hired someone else when zi interviewed last Zoctober and I jut got the offer! A little more experience under my belt and now I can get started with NFP in September! So excited!

glad to hear that bb0115... how are you liking it so far? I have an interview scheduled for next week and the person a talked to seemed really excited that i applied. The position had been posted for two months when I applied so I was a little skeptical at first to apply to it. did everyone have two interviews? That is a little nerve wrecking, i never had two interviews before. i have two years maternal/child experience and 1.5 yrs of pediatric home health so its right up my ally. also, my dream job always since nursing school.

was the salary comparable to what you where making in the hospital or did you have to take a pay cut?

can you have a flexible schedule or is it just 9-5? for instance, can you do all your visits in 4 days or do you have to spread out visits?

congrats to everyone glad to hear pple tht share the same passion as me!

I'm interested in a NFP position. I have six years pediatric experience (0-18 yrs) in the ER, OR and sexual and physical abuse setting. I consider this a strong background, but I don't have a BSN. The position I'm applying for does not require it but posting says "priority" is given to those applicants with BSNs. In reality, is this something I should count on? There are other postions open for the health department with my city which I'm also applying. Am thinking this could get my foot in the door while I'm getting my BSN if that's how it works.... ANY feedback would be great. Funnily enough, I feel like this is the kind of nursing I could finally feel passionate about...........

do they hire new grad with no experience?

just had an interview for a NFP job. They seemed to like. I will hear back from them on Thursday.