Help!!! Considering hospice job!

[funlovincutie]

Hello,

I have been a nurse for seven years. I have worked in home health in the past and left because of the paperwork although I LOVED the travel and flexibility and repoire I had with my patients. I am considering a hospice job and must admit I am concerned about the paperwork although I have heard it is better than that of home health. I am excited about the hospice opportunity but am nervous about the paperwork and am wondering about the caseload. I would be managing 10-12 patients. I would be on call every seventh week as primary nurse for the whole week and one week as the secondary nurse. I am being offered 56K plus mileage and time and a half of an hourly rate for the time that I am called out when I am on call. My caseload would be in one county however when on call I would be responsible for two counties. Does this sound reasonable? What can you guys tell me about the paperwork associated with a death and admission. I currently work in the hospital and am ready to work days again and have some flexibility with my schedule while also having the repoire with my patients and families that I miss. Thank you so much for your input.

[rnboysmom]

A lot of the paperwork depends on the company--whether they are on paper or computer. Most larger corporate companies have their paperwork streamlined to be as efficient as possible for the nurse. As for answering the question of "is the paperwork any easier or less time-consuming" I think it is pretty comparable to home health. Admission paperwork is usually more time intensive depending on the company set-up. You will spend much more time in the home if you are the one doing the sign-on as well as the admission. Sometimes these types of admissions can take as many as 7-8 hours once you have educated the family, explained the visits, conferenced with everybody r/t POC (usually our SW goes with us) and get everything in the home the patient needs for comfort. (some of this will change r/t upcoming COP's) Death paperwork is a little more concise, but the time required varies widely on the family and circumstance.