angshallad

Hi all, I am a long time hospice nurse but have been out of the field for the last three years. I was just wondering if any of you would mind giving some insight, experiences on how the opioid crisis has affected the practice of hospice nursing. Are you having difficulty obtaining drugs for the patients? Have the attitudes of patients and families changed when patients are prescribed narcotics to what it was prior to the opioid crisis. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks in advance

Hi, We do have a separate admission nurse, although I may do 1 or 2 openings a week just because of overload. I manage anywhere from 14 to 17 patients at a time. The agency likes us to see 5 patients a day (less if we do an admission). 5 patients a day is usually manageable for me. Hope this helps.

The quoted rate seems a little low to me also, but I have only done home health in the northeast. I got paid $47.50 for a revisit, $60.00 for recert/resumption/opening. Mileage was .55 cents a mile. It depends a lot on where you live, just do some comparison shopping with other agencies in your area. I loved the flexibility of home health nursing, beats shift work any day. Good Luck with your decision

I would recommend getting your initial experience at a hospital, mostly because you will see a wider variety of diagnoses/patients/procedures/meds etc. I got my first experience on a med-surg floor and although it was very difficult at times (too many patients, too little time), the experience was invaluable. The big thing you will get from your hospital experience is feeling comfortable with your assessment skills which is what you will rely on heavily in hospice as often you will be on your own. Good luck with your career

I live in the northeast and I know of facilities that offer employment options for people in your situation (even know of someone who commutes from Canada to work in a facility in Philly). I would contact the bigger hospitals in places like NYC, Philadelphia etc and see if you get any feedback.

I received my BSN when I was 35. I know without a doubt I would not have been able to slug through nursing school when I was in my late teens, early 20's. The wait worked out well for me.

Hi, I interviewed for a Hospice Nurse position today. I have home health experience but no Hospice experience. I was offered position of Admission Nurse (only doing admissions, no case management, no revisits) Is this an appropriate position for a new Hospice nurse? Is it a position that generally requires Hospice experience? Would you, as experienced Hospice nurses, have found this a good way to be oriented into the field of Hospice nursing? Thanks in advance, Angela

If diabetics etc. use hard plastic containters to dispose of used sharps (like milk bottles) can they can throw the closed containers in the trash? thanks in advance, Angela

Hi, I was just accepted into Drexel's online MSN program in Contemporary Nursing Faculty, was wondering if anyone had done this program, thoughts, opinions? good or bad appreciated, thanks in advance, Angela

Personally, I would have found it difficult. There is a lot of autonomy as a home health nurse. I worked for four years in a hospital before going into home health nurse. I spent the first few years in the hospital picking the brains of other nurses on the floor. You just don't have that resource as a home health nurse. Even after a couple of years of home health nurse, I still pull on the resources I learnt working in the hospital. The agency I work for does not hire new nurses simply because they do not have enough nurses available to act as mentors. Best of luck.

Hi again, our agency has two types of per-diem staff, one in which the per diem nurse fills in for case managers on an as needed basis and then the per diem case manager. I choose to case manage simply because I wanted the certainty of knowing I would have work each day. of course no benefits, our agency pays $45 per revisit and $54 for an opening or recert. i moved from the south (where i worked in a hospital) to the north (where i am doing homecare) - pay is definitely better up here. anything else just let me know. the transition in nursing has been easy, the laptop charting was more difficult to learn than i expected, but now that i am familar w/ it, i wouldn't trade it for anything, no papers, all the information right where you need it - great. best of luck angela

Hi, I moved from hospital work to home health about a year ago for pretty much the same reasons you are thinking about. For me it has really worked out well. Our agency does all charting on laptop, I do most of my charting after I get home and transfer it to the office when I am done each night. I do have an advantage in that I am a per-diem case manager which means I follow the same patients, but can decide on the number of patients I want to follow. I usually see 5 a day which has me getting home at the same time the children are getting home from school. hope this helps, let me know if you have any questions Angela

gun shot wound

Hi, I live in PA. I just spoke with them last week. They offer $25 - $28 hour depending on the severity of the patient.

Thanks for your replies... Bindy I tried sending a PM, but your box is full. Angela