I am an rn currently working on a geriatric medsurg unit and I have been there a while and it has not gone well. The hospital is severely understaffed and there is no room for advancement. I have been stuck on nights for years now and there are nurses ahead of me waiting for a day shift position as well. I despice my job and dread going to work. I have to do rn work and help my aids because we are solo short handed. But the job has decent benefits and is 30 seconds from my house so I could walk to work.
NOW, I have been offered a position at a home health agency but the catch is that it is only prn. The job sounds great and the director says they hire their full time nurses from prn nurses only so if I want a full time spot, I have to start out prn. The pay is decent and the people are nice. They say I can have all the hours I want but that is still no guarentee. And the driving to the homes...some of the homes I would visit would be as far as 2 hours from my home.
So, I have weighed my options and can't decide. Do I stay full time with benefits, at a job I hate with every fiber of my being and no room for advancement?
Or do i take a job that has a perfect dayshift schedule but no benefits and no guarenteed hours, with a long coomute?
Ditto for everything others have said about home health. In addition, home health nurses, are often required to take "on call". The on
call requirement may involve emergency admissions during weekend hours. You may be required to take several new admits requiring extensive driving and work hours just to keep up with the weekend or holiday hospital discharges. So if you are seriously considering home health, don't forget to ask if you are expected to take "on call" days. There is a reason, many of the home health companies are the one's hiring in this difficult economy. Many nurses choose not to take this kind of work.
Marisette, BSN, RN
376 Posts
Ditto for everything others have said about home health. In addition, home health nurses, are often required to take "on call". The on
call requirement may involve emergency admissions during weekend hours. You may be required to take several new admits requiring extensive driving and work hours just to keep up with the weekend or holiday hospital discharges. So if you are seriously considering home health, don't forget to ask if you are expected to take "on call" days. There is a reason, many of the home health companies are the one's hiring in this difficult economy. Many nurses choose not to take this kind of work.