HH Interview next week, what questions should I ask?

Specialties Home Health

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

I am still a new nurse with just a year under my belt. I have worked in a trauma/med-surg unit for a year and PRN at a local rural hospital on the med/surg floor for almost 6 months. On the trauma floor I only work Saturday and Sunday nights and have patients that have,.....well, trauma. Motorcycle accidents, gun shot wounds, chest tubes, ect, and occasionally we'll get some SBO or Lap Chole patients. At the rural hospital, we have a variety of patients, CHF, DM complications, Pneumonia, Cellulitis....you name it.

I have a family too. A husband, and two children that live at home and one who is on his own now. And frankly, I'm tired of my weekends being tied up at work. My husband works Mon-Fri days, and we sat down and figured it up....including Christmas and Thanksgiving - we have only had 5 full days off together in the last year! So I have called a HH agency here in my town and have an interview set up next week. Problem is, I have no idea what kind of questions to ask to ensure I'm seeking employment with a reputable company. Is there anywhere I can look up this company's track record? Also, I'm leary of what the pay rate will be. Working weekends and PRN I get a decent paycheck from both hospitals. From your experience do you think HH pay is comparable to hospital pay? Oy! I have so many questions. I know most will be answered at the interview......if I can only figure out what to ask and how to ask it...LOL.

Thanks for your help! :bugeyes:

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Specializes in OR, ICU, Tele, Psych, LTC, Palliative.

Hi Addy,

Your situation is a familiar one! I'm also new to HH, but loving what I see so I'll give you the benefit of what I've learned so far. I'm sure you'll get answers from those that have much more mileage under their belts, as well!:thnkg:

Questions besides pay and benefits would be working hours, how you're paid; i.e., per visit, salaried, or coded rate. Do you take call? Of what does the orientation consist? How long? Are there any educational opportunities available? (I'm very lucky in that the company that I work for offers educational modules on line as well as in-office) Would you work in a team and if so, is your schedule decided among your team?

From what I've seen, most HH companies do not pay what the hospitals pay, so if you're looking for the highest paying job, this may not be a fit for you, but, again, these things vary throughout the country. I've worked hospitals for 20 years and never want to see the inside of another one! HH is a good fit with me because I love what it offers - job satisfaction. It may not be as much per hour, but you do get mileage compensation, as well as write-offs tax wise that you wouldn't get with a hospital job, either.

Those are a few to start with. I hope that helps.

Sue:twocents: :lvan:

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Specializes in oncology, trauma, home health.
Hi Addy,

Your situation is a familiar one! I'm also new to HH, but loving what I see so I'll give you the benefit of what I've learned so far. I'm sure you'll get answers from those that have much more mileage under their belts, as well!:thnkg:

Questions besides pay and benefits would be working hours, how you're paid; i.e., per visit, salaried, or coded rate. Do you take call? Of what does the orientation consist? How long? Are there any educational opportunities available? (I'm very lucky in that the company that I work for offers educational modules on line as well as in-office) Would you work in a team and if so, is your schedule decided among your team?

From what I've seen, most HH companies do not pay what the hospitals pay, so if you're looking for the highest paying job, this may not be a fit for you, but, again, these things vary throughout the country. I've worked hospitals for 20 years and never want to see the inside of another one! HH is a good fit with me because I love what it offers - job satisfaction. It may not be as much per hour, but you do get mileage compensation, as well as write-offs tax wise that you wouldn't get with a hospital job, either.

Those are a few to start with. I hope that helps.

Sue:twocents: :lvan:

Hey Sue,

I've asked this before, but what kind of things do you write off on taxes?

Thanks!

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Specializes in OR, ICU, Tele, Psych, LTC, Palliative.

Hey Sue,

I've asked this before, but what kind of things do you write off on taxes?

Thanks!

Hi!

Keep in mind that I'm in Canada and just learning all this tax info, but I've been told to keep all car related receipts; things like car washes, lubes, gas (of course!) toll receipts, repairs to name a few. I also save any and all food receipts for when you're out on the road- even those from fast food. I keep everything in an accordion file - one of the smaller sized ones that fit on the sun visor strap. I would imagine that the US taxes wouldn't be much different, but you'd get the best information from an accountant. I'm all set up for next year and he's already done a few of my team mates' taxes so there shouldn't be too much trouble there. I'm also planning on asking about other things like clothing, space in my home for office work and anything else I can think of. :yldhdbng:

So, that's what I'm doing anyway. Talking to an accountant is probably the best idea if you're in the US. Hope that helps.

Sue

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

Thanks Sue!

Those will help. And as far as pay, I know I will be working more hrs in HH than I am at the hospital. Being I am a weekend person, I only have 48 hrs per pay period every 2weeks. So the extra hrs will help to off-set the pay cut. And I will have more time for my family, which you really can't put a price tag on anyway. I'm just a worry wart when it comes to bills, so I'm doing what I do best and contemplating the "what if's" in my head. And probably worrying over absolutely nothing. LOL

Thanks for your input! :nuke:

~Addy~

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You can look up posts here at AN to read about other's opinions concerning different companies. Keep in mind that these opinions might be specific to a particular office, not the company in general. You might consider asking about how the agency handles overtime. Some agencies don't pay overtime and come up with elaborate excuses. It helps to know this going in. You are concerned about your hours and salary. One way to make money in hh (unless you are salaried), is to work for a company that pays overtime according to the law and work as much overtime as possible. You can make a good salary this way just by working 12 hour shifts, rather than 8, and by picking up a sixth or seventh shift each week. I know several nurses made big money by working 16hour shifts. Possible when the agency has trouble staffing their caseload. Also works in reverse. You can have more time for your family by limiting the number of days/shifts/hours you are available for work each week. This is for shift work. Harder to make more money when doing visits. There are only so many visits and driving that can be done during a day. One of the biggest draws for hh is the flexibility you can build into your schedule.

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Hello there,

The things that I would ask in the interview would be:

Hours of workday

Will you be on call, if so how often?

Weekends, how often?

Holidays, how many?

How big of a territory will you be covering?

What is the milage compensation?

Will you be the case manager or the visit nurse?

How long of an orientation will they give you?

Will you be doing paper charting or computer charting?

Good Luck!

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Specializes in oncology, trauma, home health.

So how did it go????

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
So how did it go????

The interview is tomorrow. I will update y'all as soon as I'm done.

Again, thanks to all of you for your help. :)

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

The interview went well and she offered me a position. I need to think about it though, the company is new and only has a caseload of about 40 pts right now. I am wondering if that will be enough to keep me busy? She offered a pay per visit position. If I don't get enough visits then I don't eat...lol. So I dunno. I'm kinda bummed.

BTW, she has 2 LVNs and an RN that will be coming back in June full time, after being off for medical reason. Then she has an RN that is PRN and works a couple of days per week. So do you think that is enough patients for everyone?

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Specializes in LTC/hospital, home health (VNA).

I think that may be a low census. Did you ask how many visits you personally will get to do a day/week? I personally make about 25-35 visits a week..some patients get weekly visits, some 2x/week, some 3x/week, etc. My caseload averages from 15-20 patients...sometimes a little more. We have 6 FT RNs and use 4 LPNs on our teams. We average 120-150 patients a month. So...in answer to your question , once June comes and there is an RN and 2 LPNs...it may be a little slow for you. I guess, check to see how fast the company is growing. If you are on board, can they take on more patients? Or aren't there any referrals coming in? Maybe you can go PRN for a while and see how it goes? Hope it works out for you

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I would hazard a guess that you could expect to come in last after the returning nurses are provided with work when the agency has a low caseload. If you decide to accept this position, consider only part time while obtaining employment with a second agency or maintaining another job elsewhere. Otherwise you won't be able to pay your living expenses. Many hh nurses work for two or more agencies. It is expected and not generally frowned upon.

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