I am done with home health, hopefully forever this time.

**NurseCard, ADN** · Nov 16, 2025

So backstory... I've been going back and forth between Med/Surge and Home Health for about the past 10-12 years of my 22 year nurse career. Most of my Med/Surge career has taken place at a small Critical Access hospital. I love this hospital, love the staff, have always felt appreciated there... It feels like home. However I've always worked nights. Most of the patients are there for "rehab". After I've been there awhile, I start getting tired of cleaning butts and taking people to the bathroom all night. I just get tired of it. So I decide to go back to Home Health for "one more go". I've always rejected the idea of working day shift at this hospital. There aren't many good day shift opportunities at this hospital other than just working the floor.

So I always return to home health, because I basically love it. Love the freedom. Love driving around all day listening to music, podcasts, what have you. Love being by myself. Love the one on one with patients. Love the patients that I get kinda attached to.

The things that suck about Home Health, eventually get to me so badly, that I have to throw in the towel. This time, the things that have gotten me this time.... The fact that it's 5 days a week for one thing, and I get a lot of pushback when I ask for time off. The amount of phone calls I have to make. The phone calls to doctors offices are neverending, and it's hard to find time for all of them when you spend all day driving around trying to see your patients, chart. I'm not talking about calls when there is something wrong or abnormal. I'm talking about having to call after every OASIS visit. Having to call everytime a wound has healed. Having to call to increase or decrease visits. Call, call, call....

But the straw that broke the camels back happened Friday... Getting handed patients that are just not appropriate for home health, and having to be the one to make that decision. Getting pushback when you DO make that decision, or when you call your manager and tell them you are uncomfortable taking on this patient that YOU, the field nurse/CM, are going to be mostly responsible for because you're the ONLY nurse in this particular county, no other nurse gets sent here unless you're sick, so you're on your own. The patient has a PICC line with antibiotics, a wound vac, a catheter, a colostomy.

Having said all of THAT... the actual straw didn't happen until this past Friday, a week or so after we started this patient. I went alone to put this guys wound vac on. He has three rather large stage 4 wounds on his backside. I was there four hours. I was there four hours because the guy informs me that his mom, who had been helping with wet to dry when needed, has moved back home way across the state and he has no one to help with wet to dry. His daughter does come and help him every day, but he won't let her do any wound care. Did I mention... This guy is 50, can get himself in and out of bed, is actually rather mobile in spite of paralysis, and he's even more of a challenge to keep a wound vac on because he is SO mobile. Anyway I finally had to do the wet to dry. Put wet to dry on him, left, and sent in my notice. Going back the the hospital, but on day shift.

I asked the guy on Friday, if going to a continuing care hospital like Select, was mentioned to him when he was in the hospital. He said yes, but he didn't want to go there, he wanted to go home, so they sent him home.

I hope I survive day shift at the hospital. I think I will. I think I'll actually be happier. I hope the pay cut doesn't kill me.

That was about my fifth try at home health. I literally keep forgetting about what all I hated about it. I've lasted about a year and a half this time! The idea of it, the things I love about it, keep drawing me back. The things I hate about it eventually finally just get to be too much.