Need some advice from y'all

[HHNurse<3]

Hello all,

First, thanks for all of your previous entries and threads, they have helped me figure out HH a bit AND prepare me for my interview.

I was offered a job with the local VNA as a HH rn. Now I have to decide...

Right now, I am an RN with a little over a year exp. in a busy teaching hospital and have learned a lot, but of course, could learn more.

My dream is to do public health, but with all the PHN budget cuts of late, I thought HH would be a good place to start.

My hesitancy is that I only have a year of exp. The VNA manangers think I can do it, they say I am pretty mature, but today was a busy day at work, had to send someone to the ICU, and I was thinking, what would I do if something crazy like this happened at a pt's home!

Also, I might have to leave the job in a year or so d/t my hubbies work. The managers were ok with this, they said I might be able to transfer somewhere else within VNA. But if I had to go back to the hospital again out of necessity, would they take me back again? This point is very nerve-racking for me.

Any advice or opinions would be GREATLY appreciated!!!!

Thanks.

:bowingpur

[annaedRN, RN]

I say if you are comfortable with your assessment skills and able to organize your time - then give it a shot! You will love the autonomy, the freedom, and the one-on-one with your patients. You occasionally come into situations where you need to think fast on your feet, and you do have to call MD, call 911 etc depending on the patient's needs...but if you can do that in the hospital than you can do it in the home...the biggest difference is there is no other set of eyes/hands to help you decide what to do. Other nurses/supervisors are always just a call away though.

As far as your desire for PHN, I think that HH has an element of PH in it. You really work with the patient - education is key. And you help them identify and use community resources in order to keep them healthy and as independent as possible. I say give HH a try- you'll love it