Home health?

[lvnandmomx3]

I am seeking a bit of advice. I have had my license since March of 2007 I have been working as an LVN consultant for a patial therapeutic adult day program.My role and job duties are very simular to those of a school nurse. I don't do any hands on. I reivew medical info that we get, do inserivices for staff, assess program clients when they are not feeling well have a seizure or get injured, I report any malfunctioning equipment to appropriate personell, and I do unofficial care plans (mostly for staff education ie. risk for aspiration and let them know how to avoid it mainly). My ? is I love my job but since I do not get any real hands on I have been considering taking on a pt or per diem job. I have been approched my a home health agency to do home care. For those of you who work in home care do you have any advice as to if I should attempt it with the limited exp. I have? If so any pointers on what to bursh up on, I know the obvious(sp) trach care, g-tube care, and wound care.

I am working on my pre/co rec's to apply to the ISU LVN to BSN program, should I wait until I start the clinical aspect of the program and I get to brush up on hands on before I go in and interview for home health? I do not think they offer any training, the recruiting rep said they will test me on what I know and do workshop/reivew in the office, I may get to shadow for a few hours but that is it.

Thank you in advance for any advice.

[caliotter3]

The best thing you can do to help yourself is to insist that they give you a thorough orientation. Some agencies will hire someone without experience and leave the individual in the water to sink or swim. I've always found in home health, that the better the orientation, the better I can adapt to the patient and the case. If someone in this agency is not willing to take you under their wing for the case(s) they wish you to work on, then you should not take the job. Almost every case has a "mama" nurse, otherwise known as the primary nurse. She/he should work with you until you are ready to work a shift on your own. These nurses also normally have the ability to tell the nursing supervisor whether they think you are not able to do the case. You can get a copy of the 485 (Plan of Treatment) and the MAR/TAR before you go to the case, so you can review it and ask appropriate questions, look up meds, look up and review procedures, etc. or even decide the case is not for you. All of this should be the way things are done at the agency. If they want to send you somewhere without giving you the scoop, then again, don't work for them. You must be mindful of your own license. That being said, most agencies want to get you to work, so most will attempt to properly orient you. Good luck.

[TazziRN, RN]

Depends on what kind of home health: would you be seeing multiple pts for acute care, or spending most of or all day with one pt? For the former, you would need to brush up on assessment skills, that's a biggie. I open cases and then send LVNs out to see them for treatments, assessments, etc. They are my eyes and ears. If I find out there was a problem and it wasn't caught because of poor assessments, then my trust in that nurse goes flying out the window.

[lvnandmomx3]

I just talked with the recruiter again. She re-assured me they will not just throw me to the dogs... She said they do have orientation with another nurse and that nurse will give them feed back and input. I will not give up my full time job, but I am thinking about testing the waters out and see if Home health is something I may like, I think I will work a few shifts here and there to see.