FloridaRN96

TL;DR: I am a Florida RN with 1 year of experience interested in HHC, wanting to hear anyone's experience moving to HHC after a short in patient career- specifically financial changes and how it is working with multiple agencies if needed to get the schedule you want. - I am looking into HHC (not private duty) as an alternative to traditional 12 hour shift work. What attracts me is the flexible work schedule and one-on-one time with patients, while I now have 4-5 PCU patients (in a situation where we should never have more than 4 patients- 80% reason I am considering leaving). I currently work on a floor that puts me in contact with wounds of varying sizes and conditions, mainly surgical wounds and pressure ulcers, but ostomies, feeding tubes, PICO dressings, and wound vacs still come around frequently. Personally, I feel like HHC wound care nursing would be a good fit for my interests- and should I want to return to in-patient/change agencies/move, it would be a marketable skill. I personally know a great (infusion) HHC nurse who loves her job and works with 3 different agencies to get her schedule how she likes it, and she is able to give local company recommendations so I avoid any major bad apples. I never imagined myself dying at the bedside, and I have always been interested in home health, including palliative/hospice care, since before nursing school. An added benefit is that I might be able to avoid surgery on my foot! Walking 6-8 miles a night landed me in a podiatrist's office after only 6 months of floor work. I am concerned about the cost of buying health insurance and the added 7.5% (I believe) I would need to pay to cover SS. Also, does anyone work per diem in patient occasionally for some variety, or anything else to give your work some variety? How did you find the pay compared to your previous job, and how hard is it to put together a schedule equivalent to full time or nearly so? Did you find the work-life balance better or worse? Any tips you would give someone wanting to go to HHC would be appreciated.