Pediatric Nursing Positions

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Apr 6, 2015

I don't think there's such a thing as the perfect position. By that I mean the hours one prefers, the patient population one prefers, the work environment one prefers, the rate of remuneration one requires and so on. There will always be compromise in one area or another. Home health is a job with a lot of responsibility, no control over environment, pay is often less than in a hospital or other facility and the hours are often unpredictable. Night shifts (awake-at-night) are quite frequently when families want a health care provider in the home... so they can get their sleep. Working in someone's home is in some ways harder than working in a facility or even a school. If the parents decide they don't like you or don't trust you, you don't have a lot of options. If you're working through an agency you won't have any choices as to which families you work for. They will send you where they need you. When I did home health I had 2 clients that I enjoyed caring for, and 1 that was like torture. I only lasted a month with that family.

Shiftwork is difficult for most of us, and particularly difficult with small children. But for many nurse moms and dads with very young children, nights work best because the other parent can drop the baby off at day care when it opens, the nurse parent can sleep and then either pick the child up at day care in the afternoon or have the other parent do so on the way home. For single parents and those whose spouse is away from home for extended periods (military, oil and mining industry and so on) juggling everything is that much more complicated. It's usually better if one works out those kinds of details far in advance, with back-up plans for their back-up plans. Ultimately you're going to have to choose where your compromises will lie.