Marcia73

THanks for pointing out that family had released his med records. I wasn't sure. I was also impressed by these nurses and their professionalism in the interviews!

I agree with you. However, I wonder about the possible HIPAA violations of their interviews

Doing admits is when I lose money. $55 per admit, but if it takes me 3-4 hours to complete the visit, paper work. charting, phone calls that's not good money. I may make only $110 for a full day.

I do twelve hour days weekend package. Though not a new nurse, I was new to home care when I started these hours. I have up to 10 units for 12 hour shift. (a few times 11 and 12 units). I do mainly straight visits which are 1 unit each. I do a lot of daily wound care or daily Lovenox. It is very busy. I enjoy it, though. I know many to most of my clients on most days so that makes it much easier (as opposted to all new people each day). It takes strong organization and time management skills to do about one visit per hour and sometimes I barely have time to find a bathroom. I do some admissions, resumptions, and recerts, too. Hope you find the answers you are looking for! :)

ParadiseboundRN, those are some great points! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You're so right about the connection you make with patients and families (and pets). :) I think that's why it's so rewarding.

I should clarify: When I say I get to my visits early and chart in my car, I mean finishing the previous client's charting. I don't chart before I see a client!

I see a lot of posts about the downsides of home care, and I share these same frustrations! But I fear it will scare potential home care nurses away. I know I tend to come here when I am frustrated and looking for support, and less likely when things are going well at work. SO, I want to start a thread about the positives of home care nursing. I know I can't be the only one who loves doing home care! Please jump in and add your thoughts, too. A few things I love about being a home care nurse: 1. It is the most rewarding nursing job I have ever had. I often feel I made a difference at the end of the day. I didn't feel this way too often working in the hospital. I feel many or most of my patients truly appreciate my/our visits. 2. The independence is wonderful!!!! I can call my kids or husband in between visits in my car. I can read a magazine during down time waiting for my next scheduled visit. I feel I can decompress and relax between visits. There is no one breathing down the back of my neck. 3. I love that I can be super efficient and get the pay off. When I worked in the hospital if I got my work completed, I just had to help others' with theirs who were not using their time wisely. 4. My day as a home care nurse is a giant check list. I love checking things off and get a huge sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. 5. Here's a BIG one: if you have a bad back, home care may be the job for you! I've had back surgery and struggled with what kind of nursing I could do. I have very little to no lifting in this job. If I am seeing a paraplegic or someone I know may require lifting, I make sure to go when I know the aide is there so I'll have help with turning, etc... My thoughts on the downsides of home care: Charting in the evening. This almost never happens to me now. I generally arrive to my next visit 10 minute early at least. I park in a parking lot and chart my butt off. I also chart in the homes. At first this was hard for me to chart in the homes. i felt I was being rude typing instead of giving my patient 100%. But this has changed, and I almost never have charting in the evening. I think it is just like working in the hospital. If you don't keep up on your charting continuously, it piles up at the end of your shift. I do get very frustrated with phone calls on my days off. I stopped answering and stopped feeling guilty. Boundaries. The agency I work for is not understanding about this, but I don't work for free on my days off. I'd love to hear from other nurses here who love home care. What do you love about it? I know there are more I'm not thinking of.