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Hi there! Has the school given anymore perspective on how to find clinicals? I have been speaking with the admissions advisor, and I was inquiring about any scholarships and bursaries , but they won't discuss that with me right now. From your experience (maybe personal or other students) do you know if the school is generous with giving any kind of bursaries or scholarships at all?

I have been accepted for 2025 and trying to decide what to do.! Would love some perspective/ opinions on the program too

I was hired as a new grad in HH. I was a student actually there for 3 months prior so that was essentially my training. There was so much more to learn, but with the right environment and if you have supportive management and educators, you can definitely thrive. Don't be afraid to ask any questions or make calls for assistance when you're in the home. Make sure you know who can call for help. it sounds like the company is being very respectful towards your knowledge base and experience and to me this is a great sign. If you're ever pressured to go into a situation that you aren't prepared for, don't hesitate to let them know you can't take the assignment until you get further training or preceptor visits. Good luck. I personally believe that home health can be very appropriate for a new grad especially if you can start out with less complex patients.

Spot on curlynurse! Very well said!

I am not familiar with the term SOC/ROC as these aren't used where I am. But generally we will see about 8-12 patients per day depending on staffing. It's usually on the higher side. I've worked both rural and urban areas and would usually do anywhere from 10km to 100 km of driving total for the shift. Urban areas = less km but more traffic, rural is the opposite. we also rotate through an on call schedule every few days where one nurse is available after hours for any urgent patient calls. In my province, we do home health visits (wounds, IV, meds, ostomy, catheter care, tubes/ lines/ drains of all sorts and many other things) and also we provide palliative care. My understanding is that many of the US companies tend to offer "home health" on its own or hospice providers. I could be mistaken. Most of our visits are routine ones (scheduled wound care, I.e. q3d dressing change, or daily IV med administration like abx). We also get "admissions" which are the patient's first visit when they come on service with us. In an average week, a full time nurse might have 50-60 visits, and maybe 5-6 of them would be admissions- these take longer. Unfortunately where I have worked, we still do paper charting as well which adds work. The visits can take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, which is most common, to a few hours at the worst case (end of life unstable palliative with complex needs or unresolved symptoms). I have worked both for companies that pay hourly and per visit. Both have pros and cons. Typically, because our health care is provincially funded through tax dollars, the system is very streamlined and the pay and function is similar where ever you go in home care.

I am a Canadian home care nurse and therefore my perspective is likely different as we operate differently here. $300/ week in USD seems on the low end. At my worst paying home care job I was still making around $250 per day (Canadian dollars, so approx $190 USD) plus 41 cents per kilometre. in terms of workload and feeling like your do a lot of work unpaid- yes me too. Many hours of administrative tasks after hours because I couldn't find time during my day to complete them. Often a lot of difficulty contacting care providers especially through fax correspondence (which is a huge means of communication still in our health system here sadly). is it worth it? Only you can tell for yourself after weighing pros and cons. Perhaps another American can chime in with comments regarding salary. For me, I love the flexibility and autonomy of the job. But there's much to be said about the pay.

I am a home care palliative RN. I'd be willing to help. Shoot me a message with what you need!

I haven’t joined a group, or started one yet, but we should! What is the easiest way to do this?

For sure

Hi there, congrats on the job! I live in Canada, and things are different here in home care nursing. I am not sure where you are from, but I just mention that because it seems there are many US home care nurses on here ? Here are some of my organizational go-tos that I find helpful- I would suggest carrying a notebook with dividers and writing down everything in one book in different sections! Supply ordering items, important numbers, physician numbers/ faxes. I always write my patients info down daily (addresses and phone numbers) in case I am in an area where I cant pull this info up. I phone patients as I work. Carry extra shoes with you. And socks. Heck, maybe an extra set of clothes just in case. I wear rubber boots in some places where I am afraid of picking up bugs. Get a trunk organizer! Oh and a bag you can wear on your back so you don't have to place anything on potentially unkempt floors/ furniture Keep snacks and water in your trunk! have an extra phone charger or two with you. If you have harsh winters where you are, keep warm clothes, a shovel and cat litter in your car! Get a huge road mug for coffee too! Good luck to you ?

Hi Michelle, sorry I didn't realize I had replies or notifications either here on this site. I do apologize. But I am still interested!

Do you live in Ontario? If so I would go with Nipissing, for the sake of clinical placement location.

I don’t know of any myself, but I would be interested in joining one or Starting one too. I work as a home care RN in Canada, with some of my clients being hospice palliative care clients, and hospice is a huge interest of mine.

Just to continue answering more of your questions. I work for two different companies, by choice, part time. I spend my day travelling to patient's home. Some of the things I do: - wound care and dressing changes (diabetic foot ulcers, surgical wounds, VAC dressings, wound packing, pressure ulcer treatment, prevention, traumatic wounds, venous leg ulcers, arterial wound treatments, compression therapy) - G/J/NG tube feeds, medication adminstration - Foley catheterization, in/out catheterization, teaching I/O cath - Central line dressing changes and flushing/ maintenance (PICCs, Hickmans, Ports, Aphersis), port access, de-access - Chemotherapy disconnects. Assessments that go alongside oncology patients -TPN adminstration and teaching - peripheral IVs- starts, d/c, infusions -medication admin- injections (s/c, I'm), oral, topical, eye drops. IV abx, hydration, potassium, magnesum, lasix -ostomy changes and teaching -palliative care- stable and end of life care, death pronouncements -subcut pain pump management -trach care -chest physiotherapy (when trained appropriately on routine) -ESAS assessments - Diabetic management, insulin admin, teaching, to both adults and kids Much more.. but this gives you an idea of the skills I use often and assessments that go along side that

I am a Canadian home care nurse. I was fortunate and did my final preceptorship in home care, where I learned A LOT! I was hired as well after I graduated. I have been working home care for 5.5 years now. I couldn't picture myself successfully navigating my way though home care nursing without clinical experience as a student there first. As a new grad without any exposure to home care, I don't think I would have been too successful. My suggestion is that if you are very interested in home care, try and arrange your final pre-graduate/ preceptorship placement in a home care agency. You will learn a lot.

Hey there, I work at two different home care agencies in Hamilton and Norfolk County ?

Hey there. New Hamilton area RPN to RN recent bridger here myself! have you heard deSouza? It’s been recommended to me many times through work colleagues and they offer oncology certification I work have worked in community for 5 years as an RPN and just starting my RN role. I’m also very interested in working in oncology one day too! https://www.desouzainstitute.com/

I live in Canada and work in Home Health. I have for four years now. It is definitely the most unpredictable job. But we can say no to a point. We get out schedules the night before, but as our days go on we get new referrals from the hospitals, or someone calls in sick, or patients call with needing an extra visit due to a problem, or we call patients and they decline or cancel visits. This causes constant shifts in our workday. With that said we are only expected to be available for the duration of our shift (day 0800-1600) and after that any changes are dealt with my the next shift. is this the norm in HH? I would say it’s a common theme and it definitely happens often, which is why people tend to leave. I personally don’t mind the erratic scheduling, but it’s not for everyone. There are good days where everything aligns to your planning. And bad ones where everything changes on a whim. I try to keep an open mind despite feeling reallly frustrated at times. all the best to you :)

What they are asking is not ok. I work two HH jobs. The first, they give me a phone to use for everything: email, calls, logging in to an app. The second job gives me an iPad and I use my personal phone to make calls, but I can submit my bill and get $30 monthly. The data usage you acquire will be considerable as you willl be using GPS, email, and the specific apps (especially since they are always running in the background). Are they assuming everyone has loads of data to blow? What if someone doesn’t have a phone to support the app? Doesnt sound very smart of the company from a security perspective as well. i would be weary.

I sort of chuckled when I read your post because I also thought to myself that the question “what do you carry in the trunk of your vehicle?” Applies here too lol. In my bag I carry my blood pressure cuff, stethoscope, pulse oximeter, thermometer, epinephrine and needles, extra pens, paperwork for charts, bandage scissors. Cavi wipes (small packs), alcohol swabs, surgical ear loop masks. Mini flashlight for those difficult catheters or dark homes. A small mirror with a handle to see the backs of legs Sidenote- I use a skip hop nylon diaper bag has my nursing bag because it has a lot of room and it’s easy to clean and I feel like creepy Crawlies can’t climb into the fabric Now my trunk is a whole other warehouse of fun. general wound supplies- normal saline, iodine, 4x4s, various dressings, absorbent dressings, some topicals, gauze wrap. IV tubing for gravity and pumps. Foleys... because you never know! Cathartic flushing supplies. IV catheters and supplies. IM/ SC needles. Sharps container. Central line dressing and flush supplies. PPE- booties, yellow gowns,safety glasses, N95. New patient charts. A folding step stool that I bring into peoples houses if they don’t have anywhere clean to sit

It's manageable. There were many people in the program who worked part time and had kids and managed. It's not to say it's not challenging and difficult, because it is, but with dedication and organization it's manageable. It takes a steady push of constant effort. The workload intensity starts onday 1.The heaviest courses are the health challenges and biology courses. Lab is moderately heavy. The electives and computers in nursing are a breeze. Clinical does require some prep work. The program overall is very self directed. Find smart friends quickly at the start and divide up the work. Trust me :) feel free to PM me if you wish also.

Just ask your direct manager. That's what I did. I don't think Nipissing is too concerned with where it comes from, as long as it's from some form of superior. i just started my second year doing this bridging program, feel free to PM me or email with any other questions :)

I believe some schools do offer a conditional acceptance.

I know this is an older thread but can someone tell me how the clinical practicum works? I live in Ontario.

You might be able to complete in in 3 years, that is my plan. After the first year, if you maintain a decent average, you can take more than 2 courses per term. And if you have a previous university degree, Nipissing seems fair with the transfer credits which will also reduce the number of courses you have to take there.