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Discussion

Burnt out; thinking of HH

I have been a staff nurse for the last several years. I am currently a float nurse and its still not much better. I am tired of 12 hour shifts. I am tired of 12 hours on my feet and dealing with the docs 'God complex'. I find myself with 6-8 complex med/surg patients and often doing both jobs as nurse and cna. I am thinking of switching to home health-admissions nurse. I have concerns about visiting peoples' homes and driving around in various towns.

any advice

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    • Expert

    You get used to driving around and visiting patients. Check out the home health forum for perspectives.

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    Funny...I have only been a nurse for 8 weeks and I was thinking...you know, this is really stressful! I started in the ICU, and now I'm thinking home health would have been a nice option. Obviously it has its own stresses, but I understand to some extent where you're coming from.

    I was driving home last night thinking...I don't want to be SO stressed all the time. I don't want to be in a position where every decision I make can mean life or death. Home health now...sounds great! Mon-Fri, 8-9 hour days...helping people, in a totally different way! Good luck :o)

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    • Expert
    Funny...I have only been a nurse for 8 weeks and I was thinking...you know, this is really stressful! I started in the ICU, and now I'm thinking home health would have been a nice option. Obviously it has its own stresses, but I understand to some extent where you're coming from.

    I was driving home last night thinking...I don't want to be SO stressed all the time. I don't want to be in a position where every decision I make can mean life or death. Home health now...sounds great! Mon-Fri, 8-9 hour days...helping people, in a totally different way! Good luck :o)

    Then you don't want to be in home health right now, where you have to be able to think independently, with no one to bounce ideas off. Where you have to be the eyes and ears for the doc. Where your assessment and clinical skills have to be rock solid, because you have no one to back you up if you "can't get it." Where you have to take on call and get up in the middle of the night and go anywhere and everywhere, and be able to handle anything and everything. Then let's talk about the paperwork...

    Home health can be great, but I really do not think it's the best place for a brand new nurse. JMO.

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    • Author

    I am just glad that I am not alone. This is stressful work and 12 hours with demanding, total care patients and doctors that are so arrogant are too much to handle sometimes. The pay is great but at times I wonder what else is out there....I did school nursing and loved it. The pay wasn't enough to support my family. I worked 6 days a week (mon-fri at school and 12 hours on the weekend) then I joined the float pool for variety.

    smh idk

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    Funny...I have only been a nurse for 8 weeks and I was thinking...you know, this is really stressful! I started in the ICU, and now I'm thinking home health would have been a nice option. Obviously it has its own stresses, but I understand to some extent where you're coming from.

    I was driving home last night thinking...I don't want to be SO stressed all the time. I don't want to be in a position where every decision I make can mean life or death. Home health now...sounds great! Mon-Fri, 8-9 hour days...helping people, in a totally different way! Good luck :o)

    Home health patients can be quite ill; all the HH nurses I know say the acuity of their patients has gone up quite a bit in the last 5-10 years. These nurses have to be very sharp and very observant, and their decisions *can* mean life or death for a patient. And they do it all without anyone to run to, other than a clinical manager/supervisor they can call. As one HH manager said to me, "You will use ALL of your nursing skills while you are out in the field". They also hate the paperwork. And the return phone calls from doctors at 9:00 PM. :) But the rewards for the ones who love HH seem to outweigh the negatives. Frankly, I don't think HH gets the respect it deserves.

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    I have just left a job as an admissions nurse for a HH company after doing it for 3 years. I spent 13 years in the hospital before that. Well, I'm back in the hospital. I found that I was working on my hh laptop 7 days a week. It interfered with my personal life so much. I'm glad to have had the experience, but I do like coming home after a shift and not giving it another thought.

    BTW, the doctors treat homehealth nurses worse.

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    • Author

    Thanks to all that replied. I checked out the home health forum and I do not think HH is for me. Glad to chat with you guys, guess I will appreciate the 12 hours for now and leaving work at work.

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