Any RN and/or BSN nurses here in private duty?

Kitiger, RN · Jan 28, 2022

I've been private duty for most of my career (graduated '79). I love it! But I can't really give you a comparison between private duty and hospital work. I haven't worked a regular hospital floor since 1980.

If you're young, I would recommend at least some hospital work. If private duty ever peters out, you'll want to have options.

lilblue, LVN · Jan 28, 2022

I'm not an RN, but I don't recommend private duty if you're a new grad RN. (I don't know if you're a new grad or already have some experience.) You would want to be using your skills as much as possible in your first job and most private duty jobs (at least in my experience) don't use a lot of skills. I do trach suctioning and I straight cath once or twice a shift but mostly I diaper and feed PO and monitor their sleeping O2 levels. Some pts are higher tech but there is still a limit to the skills you will be using. I did LTC for a few months first as an LVN and I'm glad I at least did that because I have done some other skills.

However, if you already have hospital or LTC experience then if you want to do PDN on the side or just to take a break from a facility, then it's a good job depending on the agency and the pt/home. For me doing nights it's often quite slow and it's what I would want to do if I was ever to go back to school because there is a lot of downtime to study. Days can be quite a bit busier including doctor's appointments and getting your pt to have labs done etc.

I do enjoy what I do as a PDN but I don't know that I'd want to do this for the rest of my career. Hope that helps!

Ashlee59 · Jan 28, 2022

5 hours ago, lilblue said:

I'm not an RN, but I don't recommend private duty if you're a new grad RN. (I don't know if you're a new grad or already have some experience.) You would want to be using your skills as much as possible in your first job and most private duty jobs (at least in my experience) don't use a lot of skills. I do trach suctioning and I straight cath once or twice a shift but mostly I diaper and feed PO and monitor their sleeping O2 levels. Some pts are higher tech but there is still a limit to the skills you will be using. I did LTC for a few months first as an LVN and I'm glad I at least did that because I have done some other skills.

However, if you already have hospital or LTC experience then if you want to do PDN on the side or just to take a break from a facility, then it's a good job depending on the agency and the pt/home. For me doing nights it's often quite slow and it's what I would want to do if I was ever to go back to school because there is a lot of downtime to study. Days can be quite a bit busier including doctor's appointments and getting your pt to have labs done etc.

I do enjoy what I do as a PDN but I don't know that I'd want to do this for the rest of my career. Hope that helps!

Hey , thanks for your response. I was an LVN/LPN before getting my RN. As an LPN I did a year in LTC, group homes, school nurse, health and wellness clinics, and quality assurance office work as an lpn. I liked LTC in terms of advancing my skills bur I didn't like having 50 patients at night and 25 during the day. On top of that state coming in. I felt it was risky for my license and that I didn't gave much interaction with my clients. Once I left I went to pdn and never looked back. But now that I have my RN I still love what I do and the adult office has IV, wound care, IV and picc line patients I've worked with but it's not on an everyday basis like the hospital where it's ingrained in you. I would definitely go to a hospital for skills yet I would most likely only do it for a year then become a visits home health nurse. I just overall love home health but I hear oasis charting is a beast. And most RNs I know they say they only went to the hospital to get that year of experience other than that they didn't like it. So now they're in pdn and home visits

Ashlee59 · Jan 28, 2022

11 hours ago, Kitiger said:

I've been private duty for most of my career (graduated '79). I love it! But I can't really give you a comparison between private duty and hospital work. I haven't worked a regular hospital floor since 1980.

If you're young, I would recommend at least some hospital work. If private duty ever peters out, you'll want to have options.

IDK if pdn will ever fizzle out. But I know for sure if I switch out of pdn I'd most likely work home care visits. I just prefer home care. I've done group homes loved that, I've done LTC and enjoyed that in terms of skills but didn't like the nurse to patient ratio, school nurse was fun, office nurse quality assurance kinda boring.

Googlenurse, ASN, BSN, RN · Mar 4, 2022

To be fair, for most nurses that work in hospitals and LTC, the skills needed in homecare Pdn are different.

Most nurses in both settings don’t work with trachs or ventilators. I was at a rehab center for seven months and could tell you the number of times I’ve seen a trach. Only once.

Kitiger, RN · Mar 4, 2022

Almost all of my clients have had trachs, and at least half have had CPAP, BiPAP, or actual vents. (And I've done full-time home care for years.)

By the time a child needs full-time care - parents awake and present rather than sleeping nearby - the problem is almost always something to do with breathing.

phoebebrat, ASN · Mar 23, 2022

I’m interested in private duty nursing but don’t know where to begin. What kind of insurance would I need? How would I function without working under a Dr?

Kitiger, RN · Mar 23, 2022

1 hour ago, phoebebrat said:

I’m interested in private duty nursing but don’t know where to begin. What kind of insurance would I need? How would I function without working under a Dr?

Where to begin? Check out the nursing agencies that are available to you.

All nurses should carry Liability Insurance. Your hospital or agency might defend you in court initially, and then go after you to recoup their losses. You had better have your own coverage. Your insurance should cover you on and off the job. I get mine through NSO.com. You can get it through the ANA.

You always work under a physician. Doing otherwise would be practicing medicine without a license.

I have always worked through an agency and wouldn't even consider doing it without one. At any rate, you cannot accept Medicare or Medicaid patients on your own. (OK, you can take care of them, but you cannot be paid through the government unless you form your own company. That's far too many hoops for me to even consider it.)

NurseLil13 · Aug 3, 2022

I have my BSN and I love PDN- to an extent. PDN mostly operates with LPN/LVNs. Their benefits typically don't match an RNs, for example, I get 5 total days of PTO over a calendar year. To most of the LPNs I work with, this is fantastic, but for RNs? not so much. I also have to purchase my own health insurance bc they only offer catastrophic. No 401k or 403b. However, they (meaning my agency) allow me a little more independence and don't breathe down my neck as bad. I am more choosy about clients and only take the complex patients that will prevent me from getting bored. Usually there are trach/vents, central lines, Gtubes/feeds, or a combination of the three.

If you're truly interested, I'd look at different agencies around your area and see what kind of cases they have available. If there's one you're comfortable with, take it! Good Luck!

ShayNeq65 · Mar 16, 2023

I know this post is old but I have been going back and forth my whole career.

I will be going back to an ALF. That is the nursing that is the best speed for me. Hospital not bad either but PDN is just not for me. I am good at it, the parents & the adult child client like me but let's just say I personally don't vibe well.

We are so lucky we have options!??

Joe Kirby, RN · Jun 22

I've been doing PDN for about 12 years. I have an ADN.