grneyes8

I know that the hospitals aren't hiring new grads but a new nurse in home care could lose her license pretty quickly if she doesn't know what she's doing. Ideally they would offer extra training to new nurses but we know that probably isn't going to happen in most cases. They're going to want them out there making money. Not sure what the answer is.

Home care is a very good job and very flexible once you figure it out. The company I work for pays salary and we are to do a set amount of points (6.5) every day. A visit is 1 point, IV visit 1.5points, Recert 1.5pts, ROC 2 pts, SOC 2.75 pts and SOC IV 3 pts. We are also payed mileage. Anything over 6.5 points is payed in a bonus check every month. I've never had a bonus check under $700 and that was on a month I didn' feel like doing much. For 2012 I made over $120,000. I do only SOCs and ROCs and have large amounts of paperwork I mostly do in the home-I do 3-5 a day and sometimes work a Saturday, have to work every 6th weekend. I am usually home by 5 and done with paperwork by 8 or 9-once home I code and type an admit note. I start work at 9am. I never carry any paperwork over to the next day, everything is locked before I go to bed. If I only do the 3 I'm done much earlier. My kids are grown so I don't have anything pulling me in a million different directions. I date, I go out when I want to, I see my family and grandkids. I have just learned how to organize and manage so that I can do everything I want/need to. Don't let anyone scare you, this job is what you make it. I am very laid back and don't get frazzled, I think that may be key. :-)

I agree wholeheartedly with QueenNasus! There are some things that you can only learn from experience and I don't feel home care is the place to learn. You need to be able to walk in, look at that pt and know if something isn't right! There is no back up in the home, you're it and one bad move could cost a pt their life!

Home Care is a different way of life but very manageable! I have been doing this for 6 years and I love it. Just don't come into it thinking it's going to be easy because it isn't at first. The paperwork can be overwhelming until you get used to it. I only open cases so I do three-five a day. I spend a little over a hour in the home and probably 3 hours or so on paperwork at home once you figure in coding and typing an admit note. Case managers get off a little easier because they don't have quite as much paperwork but they have to do more MD calls and stuff than I do. Good luck, hope you enjoy it. I will never go back in to the hospital after this!

This is a tough position. Even if you're salary you should have comp time or something where you can come in later or leave early when you've worked over. This would not set well with me either and would have to be addressed. I would ask to be hourly, if possible, and if not I would look for another job.

I'm an opener now so most of my cases are confirmed before they get to my schedule, which is nice. But before I became an opener this was my biggest pet peeve. Find a company where you are salary and it will be much better pay-wise.

I have been a nurse for almost 13 years and I can tell you it's the best choice I ever made. I worked in the hospital for many years and I am soooo glad I came out of that. I do home care now and absolutely love it. You can make money doing this (I made over $120,000 for 2012). You don't have to break your back to be a good nurse and make money. There is a future, you just have to figure it out. Oh yeah, and I'm just a ASN. ou just have to make the right choices and not get stuck into thinking that the hospital is the only place you can make money. In this economy places are not looking to train someone from scratch but