Briar

It is my understanding that standards of care are to be exactly the same for hospice pts as for any other pt in a health care facility. This is legally mandated, though it may differ from state to state. -Briar

Thanks everyone for your advice. I accepted the job at $24/hr and .31 cents per mile plus on-call pay, which after digging around is very good in this area for someone with only two years nursing experience. Patient load doesn't sound too bad, 12-15 patients, but I have nothing to compare it to except my friend in home health who typically handles 15 or more per week. As far as milage on my car, it is close to 200,000 miles already and is an old and disreputable looking, but very reliable Volvo so I'm not in it for the trade-in value. I already drive round trip 80 miles to work at my hospital job, and I don't get paid milage for that so anything's better than that, plus the distances will typically be shorter than what I am already driving. I love the people at the company that I have already met, and their philosophy is veyr much in line with my own holistic viewpoint so I think this will be a good match. I am really looking forward to this work, I do feel called in a way I haven't felt called to anything else in a long time. Thanks again everyone, Briar

Thanks for the link. I've tried this salary wizard before but have a tough time because RN-home health, or RN-hospice isn't a choice, and I think the job responsibilities go beyond just a Staff RN. So, I chose techincal nurse-RN and got a median salary of approx. $53,000. I'm supposed to be hearing from the HR department today to negotiate salary and benefits. I think my best plan of action is to ask them what is a typical range for someone with my experience and skills and go from there. Thanks everyone for the advice, I'll let you know how it goes. -Briar :roll

To answer the earlier question: The company is an urban non-profit. They accept any patient regardless of ability to pay, including indigent and homeless. -Briar

Shenandoah, Congrats on your decision to start Nursing school. It is one of the best things I have ever done for myself. I graduated in May 2002 from UCHSC and thought it was a great program, but they are under some budget strains right now and I don't know how that is affecting the current quality of education. I also have heard great things about Univerity of Northern Colorado's nursing program, which has a more rural focus. I work with many nurses who graduated from that program and have very good things to say about it. I've worked with ADN nurses who graduated from Front Range and found them to be competent , though my experience is limited since I work in ICU and nearly all employees there have a BSN. The BSN/ADN thing is something to consider when thinking about where you want to eventually end up. If you have a yen for emergency or ICU nursing you want to get your BSN as I know of no programs in this area that hire new -grad ADN nurses into those specialties. On the other hand, if you are drawn to Long-term-care facility nursing, or med/surg you'll do fine with an ADN in most hospitals. Good luck to you, Briar

Greetings everyone. I am an RN who has been working in critical care for about two and a half years now and have been offered an RN position with an end-of-life care organization. I am terribly pleased and excited to be starting in hopsice and palliative care as this is something that has drawn me since nursing school. My problem is that we have not yet negotiated for salary and benefits and I have no idea what is a reasonable sum to ask for. I am currently making $24.36 per hour at my ICU unit (includes shift differential) and would like to keep my approximate yearly salary the same. This position will be a few more hours per week than I have now. I will have a bit more responsibility in overseeing an LPN and some case management and driving is required as well. Any ideas would be helpful. Thank you, Briar:roll