bargainhound

I think you have proven you are doing well as a nurse. If and when any issues arise regarding patient care or safety, then it should be addressed, just as any other nurse, not because of bipolar. You are showing you are mindful of keeping control, making sure your meds are working. As long as you maintain and accept feedback from a trusted friend, family member, etc. I think it is none of anyone's business.

You must stand up for yourself. If you start out with everyone dumping on you, it will only get worse. Believe me, they are all watching to see what you will do. Be kind but firm and professional.

There is no test to get certified by Medicare,,,,,,,,,you just submit your resume.

I am a little confused by your post. Home Health does not do nursing home care. There are psych nursing homes. I have been director of one. No, I was not scared. Your experience prevents that. Not understanding the patients and their behaviors when you are new to the psych world is what scares people.

That's horrible!

I suggest you try agency work. You can either stay where you are and do your college work, or take a travel assignment and do your college work elsewhere or online. Agency work gives you a chance to try other fields of nursing and other companies. Good luck.

Psych nursing is a specialty and you are much more valuable than they seem to be paying..................knowing you are in a position to ask for better pay may help you..............psych nurses are hard to find.

I read in the Nursing magazine years ago to "never specialize yourself out of a job". I think that was great advice and over the years, I have kept my skills/knowledge up in both areas. Psych nurses are difficult to come by and they are valued. Sometimes, it just takes time to find where the jobs are. Yes, you can go back and forth from medical/surgical type nursing to psych nursing, whether inpatient our outpatient/home health nursing. You know yourself what you can tolerate as a nurse and what type nursing you prefer to not do...........just stay in those parameters and you will find plenty of work.

Medicare certification for home health agency to be able to bill for psychiatric visits. This is in demand and makes it very simple to show that you are qualified. Once you get it, it is good for any agency you work for.......you just submit a resume for them to approve you.

oasistraining.org This website will help you. I loved the psych patients. You will be fine. The documentation will come easier as you do the assessments and learn what the question is asking and how to answer it according to government standards............ My favorite accomplishment was using light therapy (my own idea and okayed by the doctor) on a patient with seasonal affective disorder............she was not willing to take medications and had problems all year round, not just in winter. It worked and her family and she was very grateful! The patients who do what is asked of them in the one to one talk therapy are the ones who do the best.................and it is very rewarding to see them progress.

Thank you for the info. Stillwater is office I am considering.

Oklahoma

Need someone to tell me how Carter Home Health compares to other home health as far as being RN employee is concerned. I know I can look up Home Health Compare, but I want to know thoughts of actual employees. Thank you.

I agree that being miserable in your job can effect your health in every way no matter how short .........months can hurt you mentally and physically and also socially as well as your family's well-being as they see the effects on you and cope with the effects that trickle to them. It is not worth it to stay in a job like that; although it is sometimes hard to find the job that you really like/fit into without so much stress. I believe it is best to keep looking/trying other things until you do find the job that fits. I also believe that as we go through our career lives, this changes for us, and we enjoy different things as we go through our lives.

There are jobs reviewing charts such as MedAssurant. There are jobs doing coding of diagnosis for home health companies,etc. There are jobs doing care plans for Nursing homes to meet state regulations. These are basically jobs involving chart review, computer work. These are a few that I know about and have done some of them.

I think you need to know that you are in demand/marketable and that managers are looking for nurses like you to hire in all sorts of positions. Just because you are near 50 does not make you less likely to get a great job! I also would like to say that staying in a job because the patients want you to stay can be harmful to you in the long run. You have to think about you and your family's needs and future.

In Oklahoma the state holds seminars. Maybe your state also offers some tutorials.

exstol: Which company do you work for? Website?

There are other types of jobs also (besides the ones already mentioned). I do chart reviews and go from site to site. Some people also do these online from home. I have done some of these also. There are some nurses who do case management for insurance companies. Like workman's comp cases, etc.........there are office jobs and also field jobs. My company is MedAssurant. Another one is Corvel-----www.corvel.com. I had a friend who worked for them.

Try http://www.salary.com. It will give you a range that will give you some idea.

I used Microtel when on a similar assignment. I felt safe and it was clean, etc. I was able to travel home and just stay there two "nights". I worked at night so it was actually days. It was cheaper than using the money for an apartment and that way I kept the difference.

It is sad but true some places are not honest with their employees about upcoming ownership/management changes. I have experienced both. Unfortunately, even when you know a change is coming, you do not necessarily know any other details. So, it can still be unknown what the future holds for everyone. You basically have to look out for yourself and do what you need to do for your own family.

I think it would be stat blood sugar.

What state you live in, what city you live in, price of utilities, etc....... determines how far your salary will go.

There can always be things going on that you know nothing about. The management can change their mind; the money can be pulled for the area, etc. Don't assume that it had anything to do with you personally.