New to home health, next to nothing for orientation...vent

[everthesame]

Hi all. I am brand spanking new to HH and feel totally overwhelmed. I was to be the 2nd nurse in this office but the week before I started started the only other full time RN in the office quit...no notice. So, I have only been able to ride with an RN a couple of days. With OASIS and our totally sucky computer system two days is nowhere near enough time to pick everything up.

I enjoy seeing the patients in their homes and helping them stay there, but I have never had a real orientation to what my role is to be. The LPNs who work out of this office are great but they can't help me with my admission charting and OASIS. It seems like 90% of our patients are OASIS.

My orientation was been next to nothing. I tried to ride with an LPN for a day my first week there but after an hour I got paged to go back to the office. I was then sent out by myself to do an OASIS admission. I felt they only cared that I had RN behind my name and it didn't matter that I didn't know what to do. Yes, I can go out and ask the questions and assess the patient, but then how do I chart it and how do I get the supplies needed out to the patient.

The computer charting we have to do is way too complicated. I wish I know how to do programming. I would write a simple, logical program that doesn't take 3 minutes to chart the patient's clear lungs.

Plus to top it off I am not allowed one minute of overtime to catch up my charting before being sent on more admissions. They are expecting me to see 6 patients a day. Almost all of my schedule consists of admits and recerts. I could probably do it if they would mix it up a little and give me some routine visits.

I apologize for the long rant. I am just so frustrated.

Thanks for listening.

[NURSET2007]

It depends on how far out the patients are, and how long it takes you to get in do what you need to and get out. If you stop and gossip with each patient you will never get done. If paid per visit then thats it, nothing extra over the time you are expected to be there. and your paperwork is usually meant to be done at home or at the office. Unless you like driving, I would try and take patients close to home.

[luvmy2angels]

This does not sound like a good place for you to be. I am an LPN and our orientation lasted almost 3 months before we were allowed to go out on our own and i know the RNs do at least the same if not more. Plus we have to do a supervisory visit with our supervisor before we are left out on our own. I wouldn't want to be associated with an agency that doesn't have a proper orientation program. Good luck to you. I think home health is a great area to work in, you just need to find a place that is willing to invest the time that is needed to do a proper orientation.

[erroridiot]

I was then called and asked if I wanted to earn some extra money and do an admission for them. I thought I would help out but then realized that I was given the paperwork but then told not to sign it and that the RN would sign off on it when I dropped it in the office. I got paid peanuts for it and I never agreed to do it again.

Having someone else sign your work is outrageous and probably illegal.

The regulatory agencies are not doing enough to clean up these "dirty" agencies.

You can find a better employer.