Anyone done private duty in the home?

[nervousnurse, ASN]

Hi, I'm brand new here tonight and want to say HELLO to everyone.......this looks like a great site!

I'd love to hear from people who have done 8-hour private duty shifts in the home.

I am a nightowl by nature (and LOVED working nights in the hospital!) and there is a home health agency constantly looking for pediatric LPNs for nights----....even though I'm a total night owl, I could see getting verrrrrrrrrrry sleepy around 4 or 5 am, with one patient, and not a huge amount to do.........(I'm sure many of these babies/children are on vents, etc, but if all is well, it could be verrrrrry quiet and sleep-inducing!)

The *one* time I tried home health, it was an 8-hour overnight shift, it was with an elderly adult who refused to let me change/ turn / or do anything for her.......I just sat there alllllllll night long........NOT fun, plus I felt guilty for not doing a thing........(the agency understood and said her son really just wanted someone with her all night)........

I'd love to hear your experiences with Private Duty/ Eight hour shifts...... especially at night..... Thanks in advance!

[redwinggirlie]

I do private duty on the side and know that the people I work for can be difficult. But despite that, I know that what is best for them is why I am there. I turn, listen to the complaining, turn again, do all those things you spoke about. But in the end, they are well cared for. The private people I've been with have been my employers for five or eight years. Guess I look at things in the long term. So, I become a mother hen so to speak and I don't have to worry about decubes, etc.... Get into it and get to know them. Good luck to you!

[BarbPick]

First let me say that I like working nights best.

There are ways to plan to work nights. This is a link that helped me a lot. http://www.enw.org/NightShift.htm.

In most night private duty shifts you can watch TV. Especially with children. I worked on a vent case at home.

About getting sleepy around 4-5. I get very hungry at 3:30 am. I make sure I drink juice when I feel sleepy at 5 am. I drink coffee on the way to the shift and again around 2-3.

The juice raised my blood sugar and perked me up. I learned the juice trick from a las vegas gambler, said it kept him alert in the wee hours.

I would take the pvt duty shifts

[HomeNurse4kids, LPN]

Hello nervousnurse,

This is the field I work in. Have been doing this for 5 years. I work mainly days (my preference) but I pick up a night shift almost every weekend esp. when hours are short during the week.

You are right on the money about what time my eyelids get droopy. 4 or 5 am. This is also the time of night when there is basically NOTHING on t.v. (if you're forunate enough to be in a home where you have access to one)

I usually get up and stretch for a few minutes, get the circ. going. And like a previous post mentioned, have a drink and a light snack. I do also take my thermos of coffee with me wherever I go.

If there are certain cleaning duties assigned to the night nurse, ex: w/c, trach equip, etc. , or if assigned to inventory, these would be things I would hold off til around that time. Perhaps you could lay out supplies for the ds nurse/family for the following day. Either way, once you get moving around it's much easier to stay awake.

I once worked on a night shift case where the child slept nearly all night long, there were only a few intermittant meds, continuos feed(pump) and no t.v. Just the radio to keep me company, which was only allowed on a gospel station. The dj had a low, monotonous tone to his voice......can you say: :zzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz I finally ended up taking my daughter's hand held Yahtzee game to play. Kept it on "mute" though. :) But hey! it did the trick. :roll

Of course you might just be assigned to a case where the patient is awake during the night. Problem solved.

Good Luck!

[BarbPick]

I really forgot. My poor Cousin Susan, I drag her into posts often.

She took a private duty kid on a vent, as an LPN. Come to find out the family had a baby monitor and a Nanny Cam, and they recorded her every moment that she worked with the child. None of us have anything to hide, but I am glad I am remembering to mention this.

[HomeNurse4kids, LPN]

Originally posted by BarbPick

I really forgot. My poor Cousin Susan, I drag her into posts often.

She took a private duty kid on a vent, as an LPN. Come to find out the family had a baby monitor and a Nanny Cam, and they recorded her every moment that she worked with the child. None of us have anything to hide, but I am glad I am remembering to mention this.

Yep, whenever I am preceptor for new nurses on ANY case, I always tell them : Always behave as though your every move is being watched. Being good nurses that we are, we you shouldn't have to worry about someone "logging" every move we make, however, in this day and age, anything is possible.:uhoh21:

[germain]

I've done alot of private duty as an aide, but was trained and did alot of lpn things like tube feeding and vent care. I learned a ton, most important the fine art of being a neutral presence in a family setting, and keeping a proffesional relationship with the patient.

I've had families "monitor" me as well, until you can gain their trust.

I'm happy to be out of homecare, though. Breaks, benifits, etc.

[nursethis]

Did night shifts with an adolescent on a vent for about 2 years, part time. Although the family was very accomodating, and the pt was pleasant, it was never very comfortable for me being in someones home. Things such as getting the pt snacks out of the family refrigerator, or using the bathroom always seemed a bit uncomfortable. I was usually on nights, and yes it was difficult to stay alert, even though the pt was fairly busy with ROM, suction, cathing, bathing while he slept. Don;t think I'd do it again.