Calling all HH Nurses, roll call

kelluvanurse · Oct 9, 2004

Hello everyone! I have been a RN for the past 6 years and have spent the last 2 years in Dialysis. Just recently started HH with a clinical supervisor position but it is a very small office and Im the only RN so Im doing the case management part also. I really like it. It is so flexible and fun! But, I do have alot to learn, I did do home health for a very short time shortly after getting out of nursing school but had a very bad experience and decided to try it again due to just could not handle the long hours and stress associated with hospital nursing. I think that I have made a really good decision and I look forward to posting.

nurse4Him · Oct 12, 2004

I have been an RN for 11 years and worked in a variety of settings. Home care has been my favourite. I have been a Home Care Nurse (that's what we call it) now for 4 years in a rural town of about 2000 people. We are employed by a regional health authority which is governed by the provincial health ministry. Our cases involve mostly seniors except for the occasional post-op client or a client with a healing wound of some other sort. We mostly change dressings, give monthly vitamin shots and some support care with clients with catheters and colostomies.

I appreciate the relationships I have been able to build with my clients (/friends). For some of them, the Home Care Staff are sometimes the only people they ever see in a day. So I consider my role to be very important for building value into the lives of each of my clients as I show them that they are important and loved.

akcarmean, LPN · Oct 23, 2004

I have been in Home Health Care since 2001. I have had only one assignment over that entire time. It has been on patient. I work either 8 or 12 hours shifts. I love it. You get to know the patient and the family. The home I work at the parents have a very casual setting (no need for uniforms). I child has a majority of problems so it is a variety of things to deal with. The child is non-verbal and I can tell by the look on his face what he wants or needs. So of the other nurses on the case and have been there for over a year or more still are unable to realize what he wants, needs, and how to care for him.

janetpiano · Oct 23, 2004

I have been in Home Health Care since 2001. I have had only one assignment over that entire time. It has been on patient. I work either 8 or 12 hours shifts. I love it. You get to know the patient and the family. The home I work at the parents have a very casual setting (no need for uniforms). I child has a majority of problems so it is a variety of things to deal with. The child is non-verbal and I can tell by the look on his face what he wants or needs. So of the other nurses on the case and have been there for over a year or more still are unable to realize what he wants, needs, and how to care for him I appreciate your enjoyment of caring for one patient in a holistic way which includes the family--this is how i feel about the child i care for and her wonderful family--it's a great blessing to be a part of their lives...nursing is truly a wonderful profession to be a part of, isn't it? thanks, j

janetpiano · Oct 23, 2004

I have been in Home Health Care since 2001. I have had only one assignment over that entire time. It has been on patient. I work either 8 or 12 hours shifts. I love it. You get to know the patient and the family. The home I work at the parents have a very casual setting (no need for uniforms). I child has a majority of problems so it is a variety of things to deal with. The child is non-verbal and I can tell by the look on his face what he wants or needs. So of the other nurses on the case and have been there for over a year or more still are unable to realize what he wants, needs, and how to care for him I appreciate your enjoyment of caring for one patient in a holistic way which includes the family--this is how i feel about the child i care for and her wonderful family--it's a great blessing to be a part of their lives...nursing is truly a wonderful profession to be a part of, isn't it? thanks, j

nurse_pam · Oct 30, 2004

Hi , I'm a home health care RN working in a small city in Canada. We do IV's (gravity, pump, tpn), feeding tubes, pleurex catheters, complicated wound care including burns, ulcers, lacerations, packings, vac-therapy,debridements; general assessments, ostomy, nephrostomy, g-tubes, pediatrics, etc... We have private companies bid on tender/contract for a term of 3-4 yrs (our government is trying to do away with bidding). The referrals come from hospital to what is called a Community Care Access Center where case managers decide which nursing company gets what patient, and if homemaking (PSW-personal support workers), and / or physio/occupational therapy is needed. Then we get our doctor's orders go in and do our job. I love my job. I love going to Mr. Patient's house , saying hello, talking about current events. One day, one of my patient's told me I was the only one who he had seen, or talked to on the phone all day to. It was sad-because it was Christmas. I hate the way home nurses are treated by hospital staff, doctors (not all, some), and how our own companies take advantage of our good nature. We are paid around $10 an hour less than our fellow hospital nurses , although we do more skills than many of those at hospital. We are more independent than hospital nurses, and when we don't have a something we need we know how to improvise and continue patient safety at the same time. We do tons of paperwork, and first visits are a nightmare which takes over an hour to do the paperwork, and we only get paid for the hour(this doesn't include the hands on care during that visit). We are also not paid our time to do supply orders, discharge summaries, or other "office-time" procedures. We need a union, but when approached, the union tells us it is likely our company would rather close its doors than pay nurses wages that are equal to hospital wages. We use our own cars, and get a small stipend to cover insurance, depreciation, km's, gas, mechanical costs etc... I probably will get out soon. Our contract comes up soon, and I'd hate to leave--I've done this for 5 years. It would be a great job if the politics weren't involved.

deborahanne · Nov 17, 2004

Just checking in to say hello.

I have been in Home Care for 6 years now. I have done Full Time. Part Time, Per Diem Case management, and now works just weekends--That is where the money is now. I am really enjoying having Mon- Fri off!

RNTN27 · Nov 18, 2004

I have been with this homehealth agency for 3 years, two of which as an LPN. Possibly I have educated myself out of a job I loved! As an LPN I didn't have to do oasis and I was visit pay. Today I am salary, 8-5:00pm and have double the paperwork as a casemanager/visiting nurse, and believe me I work longer than I am getting paid for! Sure the money is much better but, is it worth it? Tomorrow I have 7 patients, out of the 7, three are OASIS visits! I have heard through the grapevine that we are going back to visit pay soon, is that going to be better? :nurse:

Thanks for listening!!

hoolahan, ASN, RN · Nov 21, 2004

Welcome to all the newcomers! Good to see you here!

Heather, some interesting food for thought there!

Trailblazer · Nov 22, 2004

Hello!

I am a HH RN and am so glad to find this forum! I live in Ne Wisconsin, and have been in HH for over 4 years. We use laptops for our charting, using a program called PTCT. It has certainly made the paperwork a lot easier :) Recently, I became a Case Manager. I no longer make visits, but develop the POC, and among other details, ensure we are in complicance. It is different, but I enjoy it. I hope to get to know others on this thread. I think HH is misunderstood by other nurses etc. Prior to HH, I worked in ICU's, PACU, and Same day surgery. I love HH!!!

Donna

kbettencourt · Dec 2, 2004

I have been a HH Nurse only for 9 Mths, In my Agency our productivity expected is 6 patients daily, and 30 pts weekly. My case load is 25-32 patients. We have Admission Nurses during the week. We do our own admissions on weekends worked. Only once a month is required. We do our own blood draws and deliver to the labs, IV, Wound care, What ever the Patient comes home with we are responsible to care for. Except Dialysis.

Lots of Paper work as you know, 485's, Oasis, Recerts, Discharges are all our repsonsibilities. We do all documentation on computers. It's a love hate relationship. I hope in the future there is more patient care than paper work.

Chuckie4424 · Dec 5, 2004

Hello lpnandloveit1 and lynanv! Since I have some peds backgraound, in the open heart sicu only, they keep trying to get me to do peds at work. Where I am now, peds is very depressing, to me anyway. We do visits, and soooo many of these kids end up referred to DYFS (Div Youth & family sevices in NJ) for neglect and abuse. I feel partly guilty for not doing it, making a difference, but I also know I'd be crying every day.
God Bless those who do peds!! You are special people!

I have done many types of nursing over the last 30 plus years. Home Health has been the most rewarding. So sorry that the government supports the massive paperwork and we as nurses let it happen. I wonder how many nurses ended up leaving Home Health due to hand injury? Bless all of you nurses that remain in the field.

I'm seeking insight about how to set my own hours and minimum paperwork

while working part time. I do so miss the lovely connections I have had with

patients in their homes! Mentoring professionals and non professional in home health is of interest to me. I have fellow nurse friends who are dynamic in their work in pediatrics and use of the vents.

Likewise: Good bless them!:kiss

Chuckie4424