I quit my Home Health Nursing job!

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I worked for a rather large HHC here in the South. The GM was new, the DON started after I did and the Patient Care Coordinator started one week prior. I was seeing patients all over

town, driving 150 miles per day without a gas allowance or mileage, paid salary.

They had me going in 5 different directions everyday. One morning, I was home finishing

2 Oasis from the evening prior and was called to "come into the office" to do the paperwork.

The office was approx. 45 minutes south of where I needed to do a SOC that morning. (one hour from my house), so it didn't make sense for me to drive all the way to the office.

Reluctantly I went into the office and was met with a "meeting" of why I had to start coming into the office everyday if I did not have a patient to see that morning. (Office is one hour

from my house)

Basically, it went downhill from there. Promises made to me were never kept, and I felt

that I was being set up to fail. No one knew their role, and everybody was shouting orders at me without any logic.

So now I am unemployed but with license in hand without any blemishes!

Thoughts?

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Specializes in Home Health.

Sounds to me like you made the right move. Where in the South are you?

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Florida

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

Sounds similar to my experience with home health! You absolutely did the right thing. How long had you worked there?

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Specializes in Home Health.

Not sure what part of Florida, but why not check out Senior Home Care. I work for them in Louisiana. Pretty well organized. Very big in Florida from what I understand.

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Sounds similar to my experience with home health! You absolutely did the right thing. How long had you worked there?

I lasted 7 weeks. (Should have quit at 3 weeks) What a mess!

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I hate home care Im getting ready to quit myself its so bad...I work everyday all day even on my days off and get paid salary...I drive so much as I too was given territories far from where I live when I was told I would be placed close to my home...I've been doing this for 9 months and am at my witts end! Sorry just needed to vent! Good luck to u I'm going to be in the same boat soon in off today and keep getting calls! It never stops...

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I think you did the right thing in quitting. Some places just abuse their nurses, and this sounds like one of them. I actually did what you did once. I remember pulling up to the office, absolutely dreading going inside. I was so burned out, and our branch DON was a complete dingbat. Something clicked, and I just decided then and there that I'd had enough. I went in and quit!

I've been working as a home care nurse for about 20 years. I've worked for a total of five agencies. I experienced all that you mentioned at the majority of them, with the exception of the one I currently work for, which is probably the only one that has had its act together. Full time nurses earn a salary, based on a baseline of 50 visits/2 wk period. If we fall below that number, we still earn our salary; if we go over that number, we earn additional pay depending on the types of visits made. In addition, we get on-call pay, additional pay for high-tech visits (like IVs, etc.), and mileage. For the most part we are kept in a certain geographic area, so the numbers of miles we drive is usually reasonable. Also, we aren't expected to be in the office any minimum amount of time, except for our monthly staff meeting. We can file transfer our notes from the computer. If I have paperwork that needs to be turned in, I always give it to my husband (who works close to our office), and he drops it off in the box outside. Our DON says she's more interested in us seeing our patients and getting the work done, not in seeing our faces. We can even call and order supplies and have them drop-shipped to a patient's home. We really are given quite a bit of independence.

All that being said, I'm also considering quitting. The problem is, even though the working conditions are some of the best I've experienced in home care, IT IS STILL HOME CARE!! The paperwork, which was always overwhelming, has just gotten nuts. The patient acuity seems to rise by the week. As some of you mentioned, you feel like you work 24 hrs/day. After 20 years of this (with a total of 29 as an RN), I'm not sure what to do next.

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Specializes in Registered Nurse.

OMG. Home Care is so challenging. It has that 24 hour accountability aspect. I don't do frequent home visits. But my job involves case management and visiting patients at their homes occasionally. It seems employers want nurses to move in with the patient and take care of all their needs. Unfortunately, some of the patients don't want this kind of control or to take personal responsibility. Good question, where does one go after this? I don't think trying this longer would have made this situation better. I hope you find something better.

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Congratulations!! Take the summer off and enjoy!!

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Give thanks! I'm just getting out of it too - I absolutely LOVE the patients but the agency expectations stink, and all you ever seem to get is more demands & criticism vs a pat on the back! I hate it! My agency sent me into Boston to see patients - even though I was hired for a rural location, 46 miles away! 3 SOC, 1 of which needed labs draw, 1 complex wound revisit, 1 IV revisit & another wound revisit, with 150 miles of driving both days! This last week I had to read a ppd (2nd of 2 step) it was + and clinical mgr was up in arms cause I'd not xrayed this guy, set up HEPA mask fitting for the staff etc - then branch director (OT, the talented inspector gadgets of healthcare) says my reading said > 3 inches - I had to explain to her as well that being positive doesn't mean he's got active TB, he'd been in a SNF prior, had a + step 1 ppd, he'd likely received the BCG vaccine & there are 2.54 cm in 1 inch - sooooo relax! She also complained because I'd used an ace wrap instead of Coban to provide some compression & secure a wound dressing because I didn't have Coban & wound clinic didn't send pt home with any supplies, and being I'm being sent out of region to see folks, I've no access to local office there to retrieve them. And btw, just try to get a doc to return a call on a weekend! Home care is a life sucking business! So give thanks & enjoy your summer as I'm going to.

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I did home care for about 1 year and I definitely understand how u feel...the long hours commuting home to home plus the overwhelming amt of paperwork...I learned a lot but am glad I left...don't give up u did the right thing

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