hELP... need some information

Please read through this forum about what home health nurses do and why it might not be a good fit for a new grad.

thank you for you response.. I really appreciate it, I was thinking where and how to start? and what is best specialty or area suit for a new grad nurse outside the hospital? Can you give me some advice... thank you so much.... God Bless you

In 2007, As a new grad RN I did 3 months med/surg, 2 months psych, then got hired as a home care nurse (I had found my niche). But I was an EMT for several yrs before that and my employer said if it wasn't for the EMT experience she probably would not have hired me with only 3 mo med/surg. You have to be autonomous in home care, you have to act as if you know what you're doing, even if you have never done that skill before. I can go months without doing an IV, then on a moments notice be called out to not only do the IV, but teach the family to do it at the same time....stressful.

I'll give you an another example, my home health employer just took on a new contract to do Synagis injections for preterm infants and high risk peds to prevent RSV....Well, I have absolutely NO ped nursing experience except for nursing school and had 3 infant admissions today with injections that I had to calculate per their weight in kilograms. I had to ACT as though I had done this before or else the mothers of these infants wouldn't let me touch their babies with a ten foot pole. Plus this inj can cause anaphylactic shock and comes with epinephrine inj, just in case....stressful.

So, if you can think fast on your feet, act confident when you're not (so not to scare the patient) and be autonomous, then get some med/surg experience and when you feel confident with your skills start applying for home health positions.

That's my best advice, good luck!

Dijmart

A good place to start and probably where you have the best chance of getting hired is a long term care facility. But don't be discouraged if you find that you are told that they want someone with experience. That is the general answer that most employers are putting out there in these times. You could get an extended care home health case and receive a good orientation to get started, but that depends on whether you can find an agency that does hire new grads.

Sorry for the late response. Thank you so much for your response and time, advice. Never give up and I know God has a great plan for me and God is good all the time... God Bless u always

In 2007, As a new grad RN I did 3 months med/surg, 2 months psych, then got hired as a home care nurse (I had found my niche). But I was an EMT for several yrs before that and my employer said if it wasn't for the EMT experience she probably would not have hired me with only 3 mo med/surg. You have to be autonomous in home care, you have to act as if you know what you're doing, even if you have never done that skill before. I can go months without doing an IV, then on a moments notice be called out to not only do the IV, but teach the family to do it at the same time....stressful.

I'll give you an another example, my home health employer just took on a new contract to do Synagis injections for preterm infants and high risk peds to prevent RSV....Well, I have absolutely NO ped nursing experience except for nursing school and had 3 infant admissions today with injections that I had to calculate per their weight in kilograms. I had to ACT as though I had done this before or else the mothers of these infants wouldn't let me touch their babies with a ten foot pole. Plus this inj can cause anaphylactic shock and comes with epinephrine inj, just in case....stressful.

So, if you can think fast on your feet, act confident when you're not (so not to scare the patient) and be autonomous, then get some med/surg experience and when you feel confident with your skills start applying for home health positions.

That's my best advice, good luck!

Dijmart

Sorry for the late response. Thank you so much Dijmart for the advice and an example. I will bear that in my mind about being a home health nurse. God Bless u always

Sorry for the late response. Thank you so much Dijmart for the advice and an example. I will bear that in my mind about being a home health nurse. God Bless u always

No problem! Good Luck:D