msteeleart

I just quit as an RN home health case manager in June to go work at an office at an insurance company. I will not miss going into filthy, insect infested homes. There were many nights when I was wondering if I brought bed bugs home and what I would do if I did. I did this job for 2 years and never got a raise, just a pay cut, I enjoyed the freedom and flexibility but it just go to be too much especially when they expanded my area and increased documentation requirements. I feel bad for the patients that need the care because with the decrease in pay, the care will just get worse and there will be increased turnover.

I just left a job as an RN case manager/team leader in home health and I worked there for a little over 2 years. I learned a lot while I was there but that job is not for someone that wants to come home and relax after work. Depending on how big your territory is, once you are done with seeing patients all day, you have to come home and sit and do recertification/resumption or start of care paperwork for hours plus the nursing notes. There were days where I had 6 recerts and I was sitting up doing paperwork until I went to bed at 11 pm. I loved the flexibility of the job and it was so nice when I had nothing but visits and got my nursing notes done in between patients but unfortunately lately it was not like that. They pay you a visit and a half for recerts and resumptions and it takes more time than that. My territory started out not too bad but as time went on the RN case managers dwindled down to 2 and then I was stuck doing half the city. So I had a larger territory with a lot of driving and my pay got cut last year so it just got to be too much. Handling a caseload of about 100 patients is just too much for one nurse to handle. It didn't help that the LPNs only had nursing notes to do and they were making more than me. I just got an offer for a case manager job with a big insurance company so when I go home from work at night, I don't have a work phone that I have to monitor during my time off plus the benefits and PTO are so much better. Another thing to note, most places in home health you will not get a raise. I did not get any raise in 2 years instead my pay went down and there is no overtime pay. We used to have holiday pay if you worked but that went away too. You could always do it to get experience and then move on to something else but unless you have an extreme passion for it or need the flexibility, it is just not worth it. Another thing that I did like was some of the patients. You build a rapport and you enjoy seeing them which is what kept me there for so long, I worried about leaving them if I got another job.

Good for you for finding a decent place for home care. I am planning to leave home health and never looking back. Over the 2 years I worked there every RN meeting we had we had more work loaded on us and less pay so I am kind of jaded at this point. The one RN at the company has worked there for 12 years and makes the same that she makes now. When I voice my opinion during a meeting all I get is a blank stare and wipe of the eyes like they are saying "poor baby". I didn't work my butt to get a masters degree to be treated this way. I do my work and have only called in sick twice in 2 years and don't even get a "good job" or a pat on the back. The last few weeks I am feeling burnt out and really sad that it has come to this.

I am currently an RN case manager for a home health agency. Does anyone in home health ever get a raise? I have worked here for over 2 years and instead of a raise, we got a pay cut and the amount of paperwork we are required to do is like twice as much. I love the flexibility but I just can't do this anymore. The RN case managers at my company don't get paid travel time or overtime. The LPNs do get travel time and overtime. I feel it would probably be better to work as an LPN at this agency. Is it like this for everyone?

I am interested in the dual FNP/PMHNP certification also.

A lot of the time when I call doctors for anything, they never call me back. The 485 is faxed to the doctor so they will know what is going when they sign the 485.

Do you like it and how are the professors? Do they do Powerpoints and lectures or is it like a lot of schools that tell you to go read 100 pages and then write a paper? Are you glad you picked Bradley? I know there are some other schools where the students say to run far away so I just want to make sure I pick a good school.

I am 47 years old, have an MSN in leadership and haven't been able to find a job that is any different than the jobs I could get with a BSN. I am going to apply to get a post master's certificate for either psych np or family np. I can't imagine working as an RN until I retire, at least not where I live. I work in home health and I will never get a raise or have an opportunity to move up. I plan to try and work until I am 70 so I have plenty of time and that would be a very long time to work somewhere with no raise. Chamberlain has a post masters in informatics certificate if you are interested. If you are not happy with the job you have now then I say go for it, even if you retire at 65, that is still 11 more years of working. Do you have tuition reimbursement at your job?

Anyone that has started this program will you please give me some feedback on it? I am thinking about applying at Bradley.

I feel the same way you do. We even had a pay cut and our documentation requirements have increased. I will be working in home health for 2 years in March and it just gets worse and worse. No raises ever. I try to do my charting in the car after the visit but I just don't have the time to do it all. I am thinking of going to the hospital and working in the ER, I hate working holidays and weekends but at least when I work in the hospital I have 4 days off and when I am off I am off and don't have a work phone that I have to answer. I have had enough. When I first started doing home health the paychecks were great but now they are basically the same as a hospital.

I am an RN case manager and I have already had a pay cut. If I have over 25 visits a week, I only get paid LPN rate for those visits but we are required to do more work. The LPNs are allowed more visits than the RNs where I work so they make more money. The LPNs also get paid for travel time and the RNs do not. The RNs have to go out and do resumptions on their day off, LPNs don't even have to answer the phone. If I do a blood draw and have to take it to the lab, I only get paid for 1 visit and no travel time. I do not get mileage at all. Sometimes I sit there doing computer work for hours at night and it just keeps increasing. I really like the autonomy but I am ready for a job where I can be off and if I have to work I get holiday pay. I do not get tuition reimbursement and have to pay for my own training when I need it. I just finished my MSN in September and I feel I deserve better for all the hard work I did for the degree. When I started back in 2015, the job was great and the money was awesome but it just gets worse as time goes on.

I am a home health psych RN case manager but I also do medical stuff like wound care, picc lines, etc. I like the psych cases the best. You usually lock their meds in a lockbox and do daily or BID visits to make sure they are compliant with their meds. I like the job and most of the patients but the borderline personality patients are the most challenging. They are usually in and out of the hospital every other week due to self harm behaviors and trying to get attention. Doing holds, transfers and resumptions all the time on the same patient gets oldI never feel unsafe but I used to work as a community outreach nurse at a mental health center so I am used to it. Home health is so much more flexible than working in a hospital, I am with my family more than I ever have been. Sometimes I am charting but it is better than sitting in a nursing station in a hospital on 3rd shift trying to stay awake after not being able to sleep during the day. Sometimes I question if I want to continue doing this but then I think about the 12 hour shifts in a hospital and realize this job is so much better. I make more now than I ever made in a hospital. The benefits aren't as good as a big hospital but I guess you can't have everything.

I work in psych home health and I love it. Last week I had 40 visits but I have many patients in one building. We are required to do 25 visits per week but get paid for 40. The max patients the RN case mgrs are allowed to see per day is 10. So, if I have 40 visits in a week, I get paid for 55. Yesterday I saw 6 patients and I was home by 1pm. I drop off my son at 8:45 am and then I go out to see my patients. Most of the days of the week I am able to drop off my son and pick him up from school also. I am so glad to be out of the hospital and no longer having to work every other weekend and holiday. I can make my own schedule and I am not required to work weekends or holidays unless I want to. I make more money now than I ever did in the hospital. I don't get paid mileage but I have been keeping track of my miles with mileIQ and I plan to write it off on my taxes. This job is not for everyone though. I lucked out and got the nicer part of town so I don't end up in bad neighborhoods much. I love it and I think I have finally found a nursing job I actually enjoy. I was beginning to wonder if I needed to get out of nursing.

I am an RN case manager doing psych home health. I don't call my patients ahead of time because they expect someone to come everyday to give them their meds. A lot of them have lock boxes we keep their med planners in. Our goal is med monitoring to keep them healthy mentally and medically. Each RN case manager has a certain territory and I have 3 full-time lpns working under me. I have been there 3 weeks and I love it so far. I would stick with an agency you like because life is to short to stick with something because you think you have to.

Libby1987, I just interviewed for an RN case mgr position and they said a skilled nursing visit is $25. I thought that was low too. I also interviewed for another RN case mgr position and they pay $28.50 per visit. I think that is low too. I have an interview on Tuesday at another home health place that 1099's their nurses. I just want to find something that is flexible and pays well. I currently work at a pediatric hospital working 2nd shift and I miss being with my family in the evenings. I work 4 days a week and on the days I work I do not get to see my family at all.