Continuing Ed specifically for Home Health?

[Pondmud]

Hi everyone - I'm very new to home health nursing, and I've got a question for some of you more experienced nurses since I'm just learning the ropes:

In my initial meeting with the client, I was told of some of their experiences with nurses from other agencies. Some of them performed interventions incorrectly, there doesn't seem to be much communication between one nurse visit and the other, etc.

My feeling about HH vs. hospital nursing is that HH is a little more "wild west". You perform much more independently, you don't necessarily get contact with other nurses to learn how they do things. But bigger than that, how do you stay current on evidence-based practice, how to use new equipment, etc.? I realize that some of the things we do in acute care/hospital settings don't translate to the home environment, I am concerned that I might develop some bad habits, or miss out on some learning, that might put the patient at risk.

So I was wondering - does your agency offer continuing ed so everyone can assume a reasonably uniform skill level, or have you found certain CE organizations that cater to the education/training needs of a home health nurse?

[caliotter3]

I worked for one agency where the clinical supervisor took it upon herself to provide a planned out continuing education program for the field staff. I found it to be worthwhile. No other agencies that I have worked for have bothered. I look for information online and have done a course that I found with a CE company but, for the most part, I realize that I am responsible for my own continuing education in home health. I think benign neglect is the typical response of home health agencies when it comes to providing up to date education opportunities for their employees.