Jarrn

I felt it was a little short, too. Should I ask for more time before I accept the offer? What is more typical. Thank you for the info to refresh on, and for the OASIS explanation. That is really helpful. Actually encountered the same with my grandfather and trying to qualify him, so that was a great example that I am familiar with.

Thank you so very much for the detailed reply. You basically articulated exactly what my hesitation was with the hospice position, and helped me understand and value the PPV structure a bit more. At this point in my life I greatly value the flexibility to go home and work on paperwork, or work later and pick up an extra patient IF I want to that day. We moved all the way here from the east coast and I have a pool and beautiful mountain view and it certainly would not be the worst thing on earth to side outside and learn some of this paperwork/OASIS beast. The clinical supervisor and nurse manager emphasized to me that they group staff into territories and actually gave me two zip codes I would be working in. They did mention thar occasionally I could be asked to pick up a patient outside of my area but that they would make sure it was in the bordering area. The area I would be working in is about 14 miles from my home and NOT in the area of the brutal traffic I have already encountered. The hospice position would be about 20 miles away and I would cover an area that was prob 20-35 miles from home. Considering mileage to the first patient is not covered in either case, this seems like another plus towards the HH position. They did say the orientation for HH was a month, but it seemed like a lot of it was classroom orientation and only 2 weeks in the field which does not seem like much.

I forgot to add that one uses Allscripts and the other McKesson. Not sure if the charting is typically more brutal for one over the other?

Hi Everyone, This is my first post, I have been following the forum for about 5 years and have found it very valuable! Thank you all. I am an RN with 2 years experience in ER and Infusion nursing. I have relocated to Southern California and have two offers on the table that I need to respond to Monday. I was hoping you may be able to give me some feedback. The first is home hospice as an RN Case Manager. It is full-time at $42/hr with benefits (crappy benefits, but benefits) and mileage. I have a genuine interest in hospice nursing as I have had 3 family members in hospice the past few years and the nurses were nothing short of extraordinary. I often connect very well with my patients and their family members and feel I can relate to their difficult situations. My reservation about this position is that I have no real understanding of what the case management aspect is, and the manager did disclose that they are very short staffed and are making a lot of changes within the agency. I see potential to dumped on big time. I also have a feeling that although they claim the orientation is sufficient and they will not cut me loose until I am ready, I suspect I will get tossed to the wolves. Now, the HH position is part of a hospital system. There is a lot of infusion which I am familiar with and have a child who gets home infusion -- so this is especially dear to me. However it is PPV and I have never worked this way before. There is also the Oasis charting that I keep reading about. The SOC rate is $98 and revisits are $55. Mileage is paid and they pay for travel time but practically at minimum wage -- which seems odd to me. Benefits are better. We are required to maintain at least 25 units per week. On call is two evenings a month and 2 weekend shifts per month are required. There is a beeper pay but she said she did not remember what it is, so I suspect it sucks. She also mentioned something about getting paid $10 to drop off labs. I am concerned about making a decent wage this way, does the PPV really wind up being worth it after all the time spent charting? I can always pick up an extra patient per day, the manager assures me there is no worry about low census, but the hospice job is hourly and a sure thing as far as income and it is hard not to take that for the peace of mind. I feel more inclined to go with the home health position as I think my experience is more suitable and maybe save hospice for down the line -- but the PPV has me pretty nervous. Are there more questions I should be asking them? Do those rates sound decent for Southern CA? Also, is the charting significantly different (time-wise) between home health and hospice? Thanks in advance.