Applying for a peds home health job. Need advice.

[gentle_ben_RN, ASN]

Hey home health nurses!

I'm interviewing for a PRN job in pediatric home health. I currently work full time in the ER and recently had this home health gig offered to me. I've always wanted to work with peds and I'm getting a little burned out with the ER. I worked as a home health CNA while in nursing school, so I'm familiar with caring for patients in the home setting. Can you give me some insight as to what it's really like? I'm hoping this will be my niche.

Thanks.

[caliotter3]

Actually the best way to find out is to try it out. I would take on a peds hh case on a very part time basis and keep your regular job. The biggest problem you will most likely ever encounter is the family acting like PITA. That is a hazard for any home health job. You have to be able to get used to the behavior you find in the home and know where to draw the line. You can be out of the home on the merest whim of a family, then you might not have a job if the agency does not have another case for you. That is why you need to seriously consider only doing this in addition to, not instead of, your current job. Do a read of the home health forum and you will find lots of threads and posts that talk about home health in general, and peds in particular. Good luck.