Lurk, Lurk....................

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I feel like I'm lurking. icon_nomilk.gif

OK, .........so I am lurking. icon_icandance.gif

And I've been lurking for a week now, and chomping at the bit, wanting to FINALLY get up my courage to go into Home Health Nursing.

Have thought and dreamt about this for quite some time, actually even from the minute I became an RN, as home health, to ME, epitomises everything a nurse is, and should be.

Not to mention the fact that a colleague who recently quit our dialysis facility and briefly went to office nursing (and hated every long, drawn out minute of it) :rolleyes: has now just entered the home health field and is LOVING every adventurous moment !

Then our beloved Weetziebat (I hate her!) :rotfl: just started in homehealth as well, and I can't stand to sit by and read all this stuff I've daydreamed about and longed for, while others are actually out there DOING IT !!!

ARRRGH !!! :banghead: Living MY dream ! gaah.gif

SO... decision time. What to do, what to do? loosingitsm.gif

I've been in dialysis nearly ten years now.. it's all I know !

But I also know that these old bones won't be able to continue the dialysis unit pace for many more years. And I'm wanting more. I want to expand my knowlege base and utilize other skills. But that is also the scary part, I feel so lost when it comes to those "other skills" !

I know so little about the everyday med/surge skills that others use on a daily basis. Can't tell you when I last looked at a stoma, much less changed a bag or taught any stoma care.. same goes for trachs, sliding scale insulin.. etc., etc., etc.

So many things I haven't done and I am seriously doubting my competence now outside of dialysis. And I don't LIKE that feeling ! sigh.gif

I have to wonder... if I got out there in the field, would I be terrified? blue.gif

And yet I know I would love it. The variety, the autonomy, the learning, the interacting, the caring, and the comforting. The feeling of having finally achieved the "complete nurse".

Don't mind my rambling here.. just thinking out loud.. maybe it will help me sort out my desires and my fears.

I think what I may do is wait 6 mos. or so to give my friend/colleague time to feel her way around in home health, as it is new to her as well. Once she gets all the goods on it, she can then give me the full scoop.

I'm sure she's still hovering on the cloud nine of novelty. But I want to find out about any hidden "surprises", surely there are SOME negatives in there somewhere, and I want to know of these, too, so I can make a prudent and well INFORMED decision !

So far, from what she's said about pay, etc., I would break even. Wouldn't be much more OR less than what I earn now. Perhaps a tad more, actually.. still have to find out what RNs make, as she is an LPN.

But to actually have "normal" hours for a change.. OMG, I can't imagine how I'd act not having to get up at 0300, to be able to sit up awhile after dinner and not have to go to bed at 1900 !

And to not have to run, run, RUN all day long.. ten hours a day! To be able to BREATHE, to actually be able to do some teaching, sharing, comforting, caring! *sigh* *yearn*

OK..I'm done babbling. Don't mind me lurking awhile longer. I want to read and learn all I can until the time comes I actually make that decision. I know I will have to do something different in the next few years, 'cuz this child is getting no younger! :uhoh21:

And Home Health seems to be the answer to many needs.... and hopefully to the needs of my future patients as well ! :p

Specializes in Hemodialysis, Home Health.
Jnette,

With my VAST expertise in HH nursing, I think it sounds like LPN's must have a LOT less to do. Seeing that many patients daily sounds undoable from what I've seen. We saw 5 and that kept us busy all day.Our visits lasted at least an hour each, not counting the paperwork. And the drive time. We started at 9 and called it a day at 5, with a half hour lunch break. We can do the paperwork at home, but make sure you won't be spending more time doing that than the pay for each visit. Does that make sense??

The book I mentioned is wonderful, but also cost $130. and is in a huge 3 ring binder book. Trying to look through it now, so as to lessen the chances of being caught with less knowledge of what to do than I'd like.

Hey Weetz ! :)

Wrote some about this on the GM thread a little while ago, so go check it out.

ALSO...(went to meet with them today) they pay $60.00 for admissions, and $30.00 for d/cs and recerts.

They are privately owned, and I think their paperwork isn't nearly as overwhelming because they are not "JHACO fodder". Does that make sense to you?

Their mileage radius is approx. 50 miles. They try to keep you within the adjacent area in which you live.. like within ten miles of where you live, of possible.

You don't do any "case mgt." They have someone in the office who does all that. The office also does all the paperwork for labdraws, etc.

I still have time, told them I would let them know something by next week. So give me all you've got before then ! :chuckle

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We went over lots more paperwork today, like the dreaded OASIS. Just seems like every time you 'think'- there is another form to fill out. Hope I can get them all straightened out and not have to spend the next several months asking everyone!

It felt really good to go out with another nurse yesterday. I find that priceless, being able to see how more expereinced nurses deal with things and manage to get it all done. And being able to see different styles and different personalities helps soooo much.

Also learning how to keep the conversation on the reason for the visit. Knowing me I'd be off discussing something that had absolutely nothing to do with anything, and then wondering how to get the conversation back to where it needed to be.

Not sure what is on the agenda tomorrow, but Friday I get to watch an admit..........then on Monday I do my first admit. :eek:

Just got a sneaky suspicion that the paperwork is something an experienced nurse makes look easy, while I'll still be wading through it days later.:uhoh21:

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Specializes in Hemodialysis, Home Health.

well, tomorrow i go out on my own !!! :uhoh21: :D :uhoh21:

spent all this week shadowing different nurses out in the field, and this week they are setting me loose!

from what i observed last week, and the patients we saw, i'm more than confident that i can do this !!!:balloons: :balloons:

they will start me out with four patients or so.. and i'm assuming no "difficult" cases.. not that we have many of those anyway. still haven't watched and admission or d/c or resumtion, but i'm sure they'll send me along to observe as soon as possible on those.

i'm excited and i'm a bit nervous.. just don't want to forget anything.. you know the feeling. and getting all my papers i need from the office before i head out..we make copies of the patient fact sheet, med list, and poc, and take that along with the work order. plus lab slips for any labs we need to draw.

well, peeps... wish me luck tomorrow ! :w00t:

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Specializes in Home Care.

Good luck Jnette!

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Specializes in Hemodialysis, Home Health.
Good luck Jnette!

THANK YOU !!! :)

It was a WONDERFUL week !!! Could not be more pleased. Everything is going smoothly, and I now realize that I was BORN to do this!!! :balloons: :):balloons:

This is exactly what nursing is and should be. Love it, love it, LOVE it !!!

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Jnette, I couldn't be happier for you!!!:yelclap: :yeah: :w00t:

There's just nothing better than finding your bliss, and then getting PAID for it to boot.

So glad you're enjoying this........you deserve the best!

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Specializes in Home Care.

Jnette....that's so cool you feel this way about home care. I totally agree with you....it's what nursing is all about. There have been times I have thought over the years, "this is what I was born to do".....I think now though as I sit here and watch tv on Oscar night....I ACTUALLY was born to be a huge movie star's wife!! haha But alas, it was not meant to be, so I guess home care will be the next best thing!

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Specializes in 5 years peds, 35 years med-surg.

I finally retired from hospital nursing and I've been doing home health for about 6 months now...after 40 years of med-surg hospital nursing. As everyone has been saying...I feel like I'm finally doing REAL nursing. Having the time to get to know your patients and their families is great. I've had my two patients for the entire six months. I do 3 private duty shifts a week and visits on other days. I feel so less stressed than I did in the hospital.

I've had to adjust to not always having supplies readily available but always find a way to figure it out. Yesterday I had to get a ua and c&s on a patient and then remove the foley and reinsert it if he didn't void in 8 hours. He was private pay so the agency doesn't furnish supplies. I had to be inventive....lol. I called his doctor's office to see if they had the sterile cup and syringe and then had to send his sister down to pick it up...and then the specimen back to his office....but we got it done.

I'll NEVER do hospital nursing again. My poor old body wouldn't be able to take it.

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I am now a Home Health nurse. But, I work in the office. Yes, I love it. I started out in the field with this company and then moved into the office. I liked both ends. I especially like the ours, I get to be with my kids more. I am only on call one week a month. There are some bad points about it. It is not as "easy" as everyone thinks. There are strict Medicare guidelines as far as Start of Care assessments that have to meet certain qualifications. They are about 15 pages long. They have to be done, turned in, typed, and printed within a certain amount of days. But all in all it is great.

hey,

so being a hh nurse can be in the field or in the office?..what do you do inside the office?..if ever ill apply for a hh nurse should i specify where i wanna be?

enlighten me...thanks

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But to actually have "normal" hours for a change.. OMG, I can't imagine how I'd act not having to get up at 0300, to be able to sit up awhile after dinner and not have to go to bed at 1900 !

And to not have to run, run, RUN all day long.. ten hours a day! To be able to BREATHE, to actually be able to do some teaching, sharing, comforting, caring! *sigh* *

Alright, you're scaring me!! I'm considering going back to hospital floor nursing to refresh my skills-and you're dredging up some old bad memories!! I'm currently in a field that parallels homehealth (hospice) with a lot of autonomy and the wonderful little errand breaks that are self-scheduled throughout my day. I also fear being held "captive" for 12 to 13 hrs. per shift. Oh boy! What to do, what to do.........

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Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.

Hey Nettie, I loved HH !! I thought and still do that if you get with a good reputable company that HH is nursing best kept secret.

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I really like my job in medical imaging but had I my druthers I'd be in HH. You will love it! I do still work HH on a PRN basis.

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Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.
RNs make $25.00 per visit. They average 6-10 visits per day, usually 8, sometimes more if they want and have the time.

$25 per visit is rather low, IMO. But acceptable for a routine 30 minute type visits if you don't have to spend to much time driving to and from the visit. Remember you still have to chart on all those patients.

Make sure they will be paying you more for admits, disg's, recerts, resumps, most especially Oasis patients.

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