Interview with HH tomorrow

Wellness-RN · Mar 16, 2011

Well, Star, I suspect your interview has been accomplished. How did it go?

I find homecare rewarding. Never before have I been able to spend the time I do helping patients. In the home, you are provided with a huge amount of information not available to you inpatient. Their environment, the family, diets... It's all in front of you. You have time to help them create and fulfill their goals; one visit at a time.

Hope the interview went well!

BrookeeLou_RN · Mar 16, 2011

Home health is a field you must actually try it to know if it is for you.. So different from other areas. Need to have confidence, time management skills, people person, excellent skills, good basic knowledge of disease processes. The points you made about where you are interviewing are all positive,,so that is great start. There will be a learning curve.. you have to give it a chance. You must like working alone and being road warrior.

The one on one care is the best. Posters on this site vent.. does not mean you should take it all to heart.. Everyone gets tired, frustrated, burnt out..no matter what area they work. I think HH nurses vent more as they are a very independent breed. They are used to making decisions, setting goals and doing things their way alot of the time. HH has been changing and not all the changes are good but it has changed before and most of us lived thru it.. If not those who did not want the new rules got out of HH.. Like everything there are positives and negatives.. Hope your interview went well.

BrookeeLou_RN · Mar 19, 2011

So did you ace the interview..get the job???

R*Star*RN, BSN, RN · Mar 21, 2011

Hey guys sorry for taking some time to reply -- been busy celebrating my birthday over the weekend :)

The first interview went well, and I was told I'd be contacted for a second interview. I haven't heard back yet, but its only been 3 business days.

Thanks for all your support!

R*Star*RN, BSN, RN · Mar 22, 2011

So I got a call back for another interview, either later this week or early next week. I'll post updates when the time comes :)

BrookeeLou_RN · Mar 22, 2011

Congrats!!!!! You go girl! Knock them dead, no just well knock them over....

Wellness-RN · Mar 22, 2011

Congratulations! Job well done! :yeah:

Isabelle49 · Mar 23, 2011

Looking forward to an update! Best of Luck!

R*Star*RN, BSN, RN · Mar 25, 2011

So a quick update: had my 2nd interview today.

Spent about 2 hours answering scenario questions. Some of those questions are difficult to respond to on the spot! But overall I think I did well. I gathered that there are about 4 other people interviewing for this position before the week is out.

One of the things that came up is that I am a fairly "fresh" RN. I have been an RN for about 3 years, an LPN for 1 year prior to that, and a CNA for nearly a decade before that. It's interesting that some places will hire new graduates but this particular place feels that my experience is a little light. I find it somewhat reassuring.

Some of my weaknesses are PICC line dressing changes, starting peripheral IVs, and anticub blood draws because the facilities I've worked in have "teams" that are specialized to do these tasks. So of course that came up in the interview but I am confident that these skills are easily refreshed.

I did learn more about the job:

~You are assigned to a "team" made up of an RN, an LPN, a HHA (or two), and PT/OT. There is also access to a MSW.

~The RN is the case manager for 20-25 patients.

~This team is assigned to a relatively small area to diminish commute time.

~Productivity is 5 points a day. 2 points for an admit, 1.5 for a d/c, and 1 for a regular visit. Overtime is highly discouraged.

~Orientation period is up to 6 weeks long, with a mentor.

~When you are first on your own, you will start with about 2 visits a day and work up to 5.

This position is so very different from the hospital setting! I can see that the learning curve would be gigantic. However given the proper orientation I feel that I could do well in this position.

I won't find out what the decision is for another week or so, but will give updates when I hear one way or another :)

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Mar 25, 2011

Learning curve is 3-6months in HH. 3 months just to get the hang of OASIS documentation, 5 months to learn case management. Since you laid out the above outline, think you must have good assessment skills. :)

Your skill mix CNA-LPN-RN: 10yrs hands on care; 4 yrs nursing = 14hrs so must have seen tremendous amount patients during this time honing your healthcare chops.

I had 3yrs aide in SNF; LPN 5yrs + RN 3yrs hospital when I started in home care, became proficient in IV's there (had picked hospital IV team's brains over the years) ....so similar yrs experience. If you don't mind dealing with varying home conditions, patients being the boss over your time + love learning new things, should do well. Set-up is very similar to our agency, including productivity which is doable. Orientation is average for seasoned RN ---sounds like an agency that cares about quality and it's employees. I'd go for it!

BrookeeLou_RN · Mar 25, 2011

Their set-up is one of the top ways for home health to work well and the number breakdown is fair. All of it sounds like it is a good place to work..

I hope you get the job.. traditionally HH used to want 1 yr as RN... can not believe they are questioning 3 yrs experience.. again just shows it is the Employers market.

Best of luck. Keep us posted. :)