Home care vs Nursing home

Nurses General Nursing

Published

For a friend,

Shes wants my advice on picking home care vs nursing home as RN? Shes wants to get a job that will give her experience for the hospital. What you guys think?

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Home care, either type, involves dealing with one patient at a time. An RN in a long term care facility, whether supervising others or carrying their own assignment or both, is going to involve care for many. The long term care job is going to prepare this nurse for full patient workloads better. Thumbnail analysis only. She needs to be aware that either type of job is not going to make her as attractive as other candidates, especially if she is a new nurse. That is just how it is.

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Specializes in Hospice Home Care and Inpatient.

Homecare is it's own animal- because it's just you. Pt could be in an emergency, or have terrible social situation, or just outright nasty environment- bugs in home or plywood on floor. I have seen both. In homecare you do have some backup- a clinical manager and hopefully a SW.

I worked a SNF for exactly 89 days- I passed meds on 30, yes 30 pts. Dayshift. Anything I thought needed MD attention I was told to " write it in doctor book"- even though MD may not be by for 2-3 days. But I never worried about carrying fleas or worse home.

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Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

I would not recommend home care. Nursing home is also not ideal, but is closer than home care would be.

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Specializes in PICU.

Neither will prepare you for a hospital setting. Home care and nursing home are each their own speciality and have different skills. The settings are ery different and skill set as well as pace of care and management of patients is so different.

If you want hospital nursing, look for a hospital job.

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Specializes in Hospice Home Care and Inpatient.

Pitching in my 2 cents... I think it's unfortunate that many places don't value SNF/ ALF or home ccx are experience. We all took same boards. Different skill set ( present) does not mean inability to learn. And we all have things to teach each other.

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Specializes in LTC.

Nursing home will be more like the hospital than homecare. Good luck to your friend.

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Specializes in Ambulatory Case Management, Clinic, Psychiatry.

Is she able to find an acute rehab position (vs. subacute/"snf")? Generalizing, I would say SNF would better prepare her

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