A Day in the Life of a Private Duty Nurse

[Catherinexi17]

Hi!

I am applying for a private duty nursing position here in Texas and I was hoping someone would share their experiences and an example of how a day could be as a private duty nurse.

The HH that I am applying to offer PDN to pediatrics as well as geriatrics so I could do either. The agency also offers a position to be a home health nurse with visits, etc.

HH is very new to me coming from a renal/med surg floor at a busy downtown hospital. I really need the 8-5 schedule to gain my sanity back from working night shift for the past 10 months.

Thanks for the feedback :)

[ceebeejay]

The day really depends on the assignment. I have one where it's pretty casual and the patient pretty stable, just treatments an assessments. The rest of the day I am like a glorified babysitter, but it's fun.

The other I travel to school with the patient, which has a lot of down time, so I bring a lot of reading material. Hard to get really into anything because I have to watch for seizure activity but I get some reading.

I have had higher acuity patients, which are more complicated. That makes the time go by faster.

Lots of charting, ensuring a safe environment, I travel to appointments if they are during my shift.

Getting to know the house rules is helpful and maintaining profession boundaries is very important.

[Nibbles1]

I'm in pdn here in the Dallas TX area. I've been doing this for 3 years now. I have got to see a lot of rare illnesses. I know respiratory like second nature. One small piece of advice, do not get involved in ANY family drama. Also for me, the more I do for the family the more they expect. Do not feel sorry for them if they tell you they are broke. DO NOT ever ever ever give them money. I've had this happen several times with different cases. Oh yes, you can ask to go to a different case. Do not let the agency "guilt" you into staying.

[SinikRN101]

Walk in, greet parent(s)/caregiver full assessment, full set of vitals- assessment and vitals will dictate any priority intervention. Check if patient needs changed/turned/ toileted. Am/Pm cares, oral care, washing face , bed bath etc. Check and give any scheduled medications and proceed with plan of care/485. Each patient usually has a rountine and you can usually set up your own especially if you are a creature of habits and routines. I usually bring something to do in between and during down time like a handheld game or something that won't make me sleepy because I work nights... Obviously. Before the end of the shift document, clean all equipment, set up for next shift and be ready to give report. My example of PDN.