Acute Care transition from Home Health?

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How easy is this transition?

I'm completely and 100% miserable working in the hospital I'm currently at. The people suck, the environment is negative, with little teamwork. I want out. I cry to and from work. The commute is awful, I have to wake up at 3am for day shift and don't get home until 830 at the earliest. I'm a new nurse and have only been there 4 months, but I've made a decision I need to find a better fit regardless of how long it has been. Sometimes it's just not a good fit and life is too short to be this miserable. But I digress.

I am employed PRN for a pediatric home health agency, and while I would ideally like to find another job at a hospital closer to home, I don't know that I can take being this miserable much longer if I can't find another hospital job soon enough.

My husband thinks it would be a giant career killer if I quit and take a home health case until I can find another acute care position. He thinks I'll never be able to get back into acute care.

Opinions? How many have found the transition difficult?

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Honestly if you're that miserable maybe you need a break from that setting. I'm currently a pediatric home health lvn I do 30 hours a week with 1 pt. I love my job, baby is very adorable and they are a complex case so I do get to do a lot of things at times. The only thing there's sooooo much downtime. Sometimes you just have to watch them sleep your entire shift. I took this case as a new grad freaked out for a bit but I've gotten the hang of it. Beware there are a lot of cases that will require what you may feel is just babysitting. I also miss having coworkers. But hey if you need a break from coworkers then maybe you will fall in love with pdn .

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Honestly if you're that miserable maybe you need a break from that setting. I'm currently a pediatric home health lvn I do 30 hours a week with 1 pt. I love my job, baby is very adorable and they are a complex case so I do get to do a lot of things at times. The only thing there's sooooo much downtime. Sometimes you just have to watch them sleep your entire shift. I took this case as a new grad freaked out for a bit but I've gotten the hang of it. Beware there are a lot of cases that will require what you may feel is just babysitting. I also miss having coworkers. But hey if you need a break from coworkers then maybe you will fall in love with pdn .

Do you mind if I ask, do you intend to stay in HH or move to acute care?

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I'm going to start applying to acute care in october I've been in HH for about a year and a half. I honestly feel so guilty leaving, but it's time to move on. I need more action and HH isn't too much action plus most of the lvn to adn programs require 1 year acute care experience.

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I'm going to start applying to acute care in october I've been in HH for about a year and a half. I honestly feel so guilty leaving, but it's time to move on. I need more action and HH isn't too much action plus most of the lvn to adn programs require 1 year acute care experience.

Well good luck. I'll be interested to hear if you're able to get a job quickly. Keep me posted!

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Your husband has something there, although he is looking at the extreme end. If I were you, I would shoot for the 18 month mark. I would also do everything in my power to find a new hospital position before I relegate myself to home health. HH would be a great break for you, but very soon you might find out how limiting it can be for your career goals.

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