Im Out!

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Specializes in ER, Forensic Nurse, SANE.

After 4+ years of Home Health, Driving all over town and not getting paid for it. (I do get milage, but not the time.) I drove over 12K miles in 8 months. est 20K miles a year. My company asks us to call patients the night before, we dont get paid for it, then have my office call me back in the morning and add on a new SOC and I have to switch everything around, Only getting paid per visit, Keeping a so many supplies in my care there is no room for groceries, I paid for my own wound care certification costing over $3500, Staying up late doing paperwork and I feel I'm working all the time, etc, etc... I do absolutely love the idea of home health and I love my pts and will miss them greatly. But, Im officially leaving Home Health and going back to the Hospital. I just accepted a job and going back to (3) 12 hrs shifts and off for 4 days. Yes, it will be a lot of work, but thats why they call it "work". The pay and health benefits are better than HH. I just think its only fair to get paid for my time spent doing pt care. Yes, I used to work HH positions that where salary, hourly and was even given a new company car once. But these HH agencies, or medicare, need to restructure the way they compensate us for our time, work load with the paper work, follow up phone calls and the worst, texting a driving. uuhh!

It's not an easy decision ! Just venting... Wish Me Luck!:woot: Im out!

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Good luck with the transition. I'm on the fence everyday. I am tired of never leaving work a work, pt calls while in the grocery store. I never get to clock out. But then I think about clocking in for someone and not having the opportunity to see someone as a whole being which includes family dynamics and environment and I'm sucked back in. That damn fence is my life.

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Congratulations on being in a position to make the change. I stopped doing visits after a short period of figuring out that I was paying to go to clients instead of being paid for making the visit. I am past ready to leave extended care after yet another season of "unemployment". I never can make up the damage from not having a job when I finally get back to work, and 'ya know, the unemployment money runs out all too soon while the creditors harass. It just is not worth it. Unfortunately, not in a position to get a hospital job, or I would be right there behind you.

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Specializes in Cardiac, Home Health, Primary Care.

Congrats! My office is getting worse by the minute by forcing the field nurses to do overtime (oh but they get it approved by the boss...just don't ask us) while most of the office staff (including several RNs) get to go home at 1630. Did I mention these office nurses also aren't in the call rotation yet have no problem accepting a referral for a 1.5 hr IV due at 2200??? Yeah lol.

I hope it gets better and hope all goes well for you. I also love home health and the patients but I think the higher ups are getting out of touch or something with how things REALLY work. And they seem to forget that we have family, friends, homes to care for also.

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Well, I'm considering Home Care nursing full time: less pay (salaried mon-fri) & no mileage reimbursement. Laptop and phone to be provided (expected to take calls between 7am-3pm mon-fri only), no eves/no weekends, no on-call. Current job is at a high stress dialysis clinic (work weekends, days, evenings/minor holidays, 8, 12, 16hr shifts) with 45+ mile/2 hour daily round trip commute, of course no reimbursement for all THAT commute time or mileage. Most/all nursing jobs are just plain tough but any bright side to Home Care nursing??

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Specializes in Cardiac, Home Health, Primary Care.

I do LOVE home care except for this recent....speed bump. We are due for a state audit any day now (in case I didn't admit that) so they are a bit frazzled but they seem to not think that we could be more THOROUGH if we had time to think aside from bathroom breaks.

I love the independence, listening to audiobooks or singing with the radio with the windows down on nice down. I live in a rural area so I have stopped and parked by rivers and finished my charting and ate lunch before.

Home health definitely has perks and if I didn't have to take call and such (as your potential job has) it'd definitely be better. But our field nurses rotate call, weekend, holidays and are asked to do more while the office nurses are only a last resort if absolutely nobody will do the extra work (which doesn't happen often). Again at out agency we have just gotten to where it feels like our personal time isn't as important and that's not a nice feeling.

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I can see some attractions to field nursing but too many drawbacks, as well.

I see why you're going into the hospital...

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Specializes in Med Surg, ICU, Infection, Home Health, and LTC.

Good luck. I had to make the same decision after 7 years in HH. There were a great many things I missed but the time it ate from my family and life I see now was just insane.

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Specializes in Occ. Hlth, Education, ICU, Med-Surg.

yuck...doesn't sound like it would be a tough decision to me...enjoy your new position!

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Specializes in ER, Forensic Nurse, SANE.

I dont mean to sound negative about home health, its the best and most rewarding job I've had. The idea of keeping pts out of the hospital and MD offices and to recover at home is genius!. Home Health Nurses and PT's create positive outcomes for the pts of all ages Peds, OB and Eldery. I love old people!! But the insurance compaines dont see it that way. It's not the HH agencies, they are all the same, regulated by the insurance companies for reimbursement. I just wish these insurance companies would see the benifits and the $$ we are saving them, and we as healthcare workers are getting the "short end of the stick". The "tables need to turn" and we need to be seen as as asset instead of a "reimbursement nightmare." The patients are being d/c home sicker (to save insurnace co. $$) and with more medications the visits may take longer. Home Health Nurses need to be paid the same in home health as in the hospital.... sorry, I could go on forever.

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i just made decision after work for 8 months. i saw most experienced RNs either left or upgrade to office jobs. field nurses are poor. clinic conference per week, new hire meeting per two week and whenever they want to, manditory meeting per two weeks; driving in hot summer cold winter with risk of accident (which i had somebody hit me on the back, company can not help nothing), if you get over time they call you to talk for you paid too much and in over time list; if you do not want overtime they want you to take extra so called help company. experience not usable for hospital jobs. sign agreement for not go to other hh until one year leave this hh, all and all. not happy, not worth. only patients makes your feel bad to leave them.

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you talk about the right way of hh. but how many can really help prevent readmission? how many has experienced nurses with good attitude to really want to protect their patients. at least as i know, this area readmission rate is still sky high. so what make it worth? i just talk about the place i worked.

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