Home Health a good option for fairly new grad??

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I was offered a home health RN position,the training will be only one day..I dont have too much experience although I went through a 5 week hospital orientation--and unfortunately this particular hospital job turned out not to be a good fit for me..I must say I did learn a lot during my orientation..but I just know if it is safe for my license to be a home health nurse since my experience is so limited..what do you think??

Ps..this job wont be a pernament one..this is just a gig to get me through a dark period of my life (looking for a hospita or nursing home position and pay the most basic bills) I'm thinking maybe this job will give me more skills and experience..well most definitely it is better than sitting at home and forgetting skills,but I dont want to put my RN license on the line.

Specializes in M/S, MICU, CVICU, SICU, ER, Trauma, NICU.

Please take this advice in a supportive way.

You don't belong there.

HH requires very independent thinking and experience.

I think you are only asking for trouble.

Specializes in CVICU.

My personal opinion is that home health nurses should have a lot of experience because sometimes the only thing between life and death is recognizing a situation that could mean impending doom. You have to have superior assessment skills to do home health. I would not have wanted to do it as a new grad, and even after 3 years in ICU I'm still not sure I'd want to be out there, making the decisions on my own for a patient.

Specializes in home health, neuro, palliative care.

I just got my first nursing job in home health. I love it, but our orientation is up to three months for every newly hired nurse, experienced or not. It took a week just to get oriented to the office staff, paperwork and equipment. VivaRN has some great suggestions.

~Mel

Specializes in Peds Homecare.

Let me bring up a different situation that no one has mentioned. I am an LPN, who does high tech pediatric homecare. I depend on the case managers to give me answers to help solve problems, or give me advice on patient care issues. Now I've been doing homecare since 1985, my questions are usually few and far between, but complicated. LPN's get more orientation to homecare than they are going to give you. I'd be very careful and think long and hard before you accept this position.

Specializes in Corrections.

I for one think you should take the job, you will get plenty of on the job training. There is always a learning curve with every job.

Specializes in COS-C, Risk Management.

I heartily disagree with the above. There will likely not be any on-the-job training and no one to conduct it. I've worked for several HH agencies and one day is the standard. Very few agencies have an education coordinator or someone who is an experienced trainer. If you are not comfortable with your assessment skills and ability to respond quickly and appropriately to a change in condition, then you are doing your patients a real disservice. You will not have someone standing right there, or at furthest at the nurses station, to grab and say "Come look at this and tell me what it means." You will be caring for patients in their own homes, their own territories. Plenty of experienced nurses have difficulty being on the patient's turf, but for a new nurse who is still unsure of herself, it can be devastating. Run from this possible employer now, but consider revisiting them in a few years when you have some experience under your belt and your nursing identity established.

Best of luck to you.

I just started HH as an Oasis RN (or admissions). I started on 4/5 and so far I've had 3 days of "ride-a-longs" but still have several weeks of detailed nurse orientation where I will be checked off on all the skills. I would not take a HH job that did not train me this well!

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