Difficult home health agency?

[snuraer]

Hello i'm a pretty new RN (i've been a nurse for almost 2 years) i started out in day surgery but due to the hours and my son starting kindergarten i wanted a more flexible job where i didn't have to pay for child care before or after school (a payraise in itself) and i wanted to be there for him to drop him off and pick him up and spend time with him after work. home health has definitely given me that. i am PRN between two agencies- at first i liked one over the other and was planning on fading out the one i didn't like and go full time with the other however now the roles are reversed... the agency i used to love is calling me constantly about patients i saw 2 or 3 months ago- this is wrong, you can't do this, you can't chart that but i don't get a lot of feed back on how to correct it. i chart the same for both agencies- they both use kinnser and i get nothing but positive feedback with the occasional this would be better constructive criticisms which i appreciate! i want to learn i am new to this but i really am feeling deflated with how the other agency is treating me. i feel like no matter how hard i try i can't do anything right. its to the point that i feel like a bad nurse despite the positive feedback from my patients- i SEE them improving and they do too. i don't ever do anything to jeopardize their safety and if i'm not sure on something i always say i'll double check with the agency, call the case manager and let the patient know what they say. is that normal? i probably wouldn't think anything of it since this is my first go around with home health but the other agency is so laid back- this one is really stressing me out!!! advise???

[caliotter3]

Could there be some animosity because of your second job? Have any of the personnel changed? Do you detect a change in attitude from one or more of the personnel toward you? Can you clandestinely ask a third party if something has changed that they have heard about? Things to consider, or maybe even pursue; but I would not give all of this much more than a second thought. Crapola has a tendency to churn inside of the home health office. Do your best and march on. If things get bad enough for you to decide to leave, make certain that it is bad enough to call that shot. You don't want to burn bridges. If someone decided that they don't like you or your work, imagine that they and their cronies all came over to replace the laid back people at your good agency. Yes, I've seen things like this happen. Moving on is not necessarily the answer. Not letting it disturb you out of a job, is the answer.

[toomuchbaloney]

Keep your malpractice insurance up to date.

Pay attention to the knit picking they do on your historical documentation. This reflects that offices inability to stay current on day to day care and could actually be dangerous for patients and for staff. When they have an important issue they will throw you under the bus as a knee jerk reaction (I predict) as they are not on top of the day to day business.

It is real time review of documentation that is helpful to professional staff. Historical review is common in poorly managed organizations, it takes more organization and courage to address issues in the moment when something can actually be done about them. IMHO

[Been there,done that, ASN, RN]

The agency must have been called on the carpet from CMS ( or whoever) regarding charting.

They are now back pedaling to correct any possible errors.

The bottom line is ...you have your choice of agencies. Go with one that appreciates you.