Homes care nurses experiences ?

[Lovethenurse2b25, ASN, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN]

Hello everyone,

I am looking into to going into home care nursing. I am a new nurse with 6 months experience in sub acute nursing / critical care. I also have worked as a home health aid in home care for over 6 years. While i love home care i immediately went in another direction after graduating because i wanted to gain more experience. Im am having a hard time securing a in a hospital residency program. my current place of work is not stable. They company keeps canceling nurses due to low census. Now i am realizing home care may be my best option.

Please share your experiences with home care nursing? What company did you work for ? Also did they provide any training ? I want to get into home infusion but i am not IV certified. I also do not have a vent certification.

I am located in NJ if you have any other suggestions for new grad employment please feel free to share.

[Kitiger, RN]

Goals at work.doc

These goals are a good place to start. Private duty home care includes the things that an aide might do, ADLs, etc., and a whole lot more. It's a wonderful field!

A good agency will do orientation right.

They should be specific about the diagnosis and the equipment in the home before you take a case. Tell them straight up if you don't know how to do something. A good agency will teach you. Expect to be evaluated before hire and at least yearly on the skills you will need.

Expect a shift or two of orientation with one of the regular nurses on the case (someone who is familiar with the child and his family, who knows how to do the care, and who can explain the equipment).

When new equipment comes out, they should have an inservice to teach us how to use it. I remember being greatly impressed when the LTV vents came out. (They were so small!) My company had an inservice with a respiratory therapist to teach us.

These are some of the conditions that I work with:

Respiratory Insufficiency, Asthma, Cystic Fibrosis

Intermittent partially obstructed airway

Ventilator-dependent

Congenital Cardiac Insufficiency

Seizure Disorder

Cerebral Palsy, Scoliosis

Developmental Delays

Renal Failure with peritoneal dialysis

Hunters Syndrome, Hurler’s Syndrome, MPS

Leukemia

And here is the equipment that I work with:

CPAP
BiPAP
Ventilators (Trilogy, LTV-950, LTV 1150, HP-50, LP-6)
Hot Pot
Pulse Oximeter
Oxygen (concentrator, liquid oxygen, and tanks)
Suction machine
Nebulizer (jar and hand-held)
G 5 VIBRACARE percussor
Manual CPT/PD
Chest percussion using The Vest Airway Clearance System
CoughAssist machine
Trachs (insertion, changing ties, suctioning, use of trach nose, etc)
Bag-Valve-Mask /Ambu Bag to trach or facemask
Apnea monitor
G-tubes, J-tubes (Mickey Button, Boston Scientific Microvasive Low Profile, G/J Mini Button)
Kangaroo feeding pump
Mechanical lifts (ceiling, Hoyer, Trixie, Barrier Free lift)
Splints (TLSO, AFO, WHO, etc)
PROM, brushing, joint compressions
Baclofen pump
VNS Stimulator
InfusaPort (I am not certified to access the port)
TPN