references/interview help....

i'm getting ready to turn 40 and this is my mid life crises/change. i have decided to go from a 23 year career nanny in private homes to a non medical home health aide/companion. i don't need any certification for this type of work. i have been volunteering for hospice doing pet therapy for 3 years and have developed a passion to work with seniors. when i fill out applications online i don't put any families i have worked for because it's all detailed on my resume and i'm kinda self employed. i have not gone through an agency for work, i find nanny jobs online. i feel bad that when they see that part of the application blank and self employed, how it looks. my questions is does that look bad? when do you give them your references and contacts? if i'm sending out 20 applications, i don't want my references getting 20 calls. do you put on your resume references upon request? then the interview.... since i don't need certification and i will be working in private homes one on one, how do i not always compare how situations i may have encountered as a nanny will be like things i have to deal with in senior care? i don't always want to say "as a nanny this is how i handled this or that" since i have been a volunteer with hospice would it be better to use examples from that? again that is different because i'm a companion to them and i'm not doing things in the home for them, they are at LTC facilities. i'm worried i'm going to compare to much. as you can see i rambled on and on, sorry.... i'm new to all of this, never having a real interview for a job in my life, i'm scared to death.... thanks for the help...