From inpatient hospice to home care?

[Second]

I have been working in an inpatient hospice setting for a year and a half. I love the work, and as a new nurse, I felt the inpatient setting was a better place to learn. Now that I have seen and learned so much, I am considering doing home care. What I would like is advice on how to prepare for the change. What do you carry with you? HOw do you prioritize your visits, make your schedule. Do you end up documenting at home in the evenings or is there time to do the job within the hours given? What are the more difficult challenges of working within the home setting? For me, what I would treasure is seeing one patient and family at a time.:)

[shrinky]

Yes the advantage is one on one time, but I find it difficult to write notes when I am listening to a patient talk to me. It distracts them and I may miss something in their body language. Getting organized takes time, as well as setting priorities and we all come to the end result differently. This job forced me to become a more organized person, paperwork, files, admissions and a lot of follow up. Stickies help a lot as well as a planner or calendar. Just be patient with yourself and don't expect perfection ever, you have the basics already. Good luck with the change.