I just got back from an interview for a Home Health position. It sounded great as far the actual job is concerned and I'm very excited.
In the past I've read numerous posts on the Home Health section of Allnurses and know there are various ways in which the visits can be set up and also in the way you will be paid.
At this company, for full time, you have to do 30 units per week. Each regular visit is considered 1 unit and takes about 45 minutes. If it's for a new patrient or re-certification for continued visits it will count as 2 units. I would be assigned a zip code and the vast majority of my visits would be in that zipcode. When on call (I didn't think to ask how often I would be on call) I would have to go to whatever zip code I'm needed at.
They pay .41 cents for mileage. The pay for entry level is $28-28.50 per visit (I have 3 years experience so my pay would be higher, but she didn't know exactly what it would be).
Charting is done on paper and then, when needed, a clerical person in the office enters everything into the computer system. They would want me to come into the office about 3 days per week (to get new assignments, turn in paperwork, etc.). I should have asked more about this part; I'm not sure how much time I would actually be in the office and what all I would be doing during that time.
All visits, except some that are done when all call, will be between the hours of 8:30 - 5:00.
Does this sound good? Is this the best way to go as far as hourly vs per visit vs salary? It seems pretty good to me (assuming the pay rate is a few dollars more) but I know from reading Allnurses that Home Health can be a bit tricky and I want to be sure this is considered normal or standard.
When I did home health ( I just quit in October) I got paid hourly, plus was reimbursed mileage at the highest government allowance. That was nice because sometimes it was slow and if I was relying on seeing X amount of patients to get paid, I would have been screwed. I would definitely ask about on call time because what I was "promised" and what it actually was--well, two ENTIRELY different things. I really hope you enjoy it--I did it for a year and a half, but it came to the point where the control-freak in me just couldn't do it anymore. People will do what they want, especially in their own homes. I like the controlled environment of the hospital
Super_RN, BSN, RN
394 Posts
When I did home health ( I just quit in October) I got paid hourly, plus was reimbursed mileage at the highest government allowance. That was nice because sometimes it was slow and if I was relying on seeing X amount of patients to get paid, I would have been screwed. I would definitely ask about on call time because what I was "promised" and what it actually was--well, two ENTIRELY different things. I really hope you enjoy it--I did it for a year and a half, but it came to the point where the control-freak in me just couldn't do it anymore. People will do what they want, especially in their own homes. I like the controlled environment of the hospital