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Specialties Home Health

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Specializes in ICU, Home Health and Hospice.

Hi all!

I have my BSN and I have a history of working 1 year med/surg and 2 years of NICU/PICU. I am also certified in phlebotomy. I have an interview in a few days for a home health company that is run by the company I am currently employed by (UPMC). I have always been interested in home health and have read all about it. One thing I am wondering, worrying about my possible new career route, is if I have enough experience.

I have read that generally, 1-2 years of med/surg is adequate. More of my experience is in ICU, but I do have that one year of M/S. I feel very confident with blood draws, I LOVE wound care and have done plenty of that in the PICU, and I am comfortable with ventilators. I feel that the ICU truly helped me develop my assessment skills, and I love patient teaching.

Is 3 years of total experience with only 1 in M/S enough to be good at HH? I love learning and have been reading up and reviewing my M/S topics, but I'm just worried that I won't have the experience to back me up. Also, what is the orientation period generally like? I will obviously have a list of questions for my interviewer but I'm just hoping for some more info from some HH nurses.

Thank you for reading!

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I think that is an adequate base of experience to build from, the most important thing in my opinion is the ability to perform an accurate assessment and be able to identify problems early (abnormal lung sounds, signs of wound deterioration, s/sx of infection, etc.) and you should have good assessment skills by now. At my agency, they ask you early on to assess yourself in the various skills they feel are needed for their patients, and if there is something you have inadequate experience with they arrange for training with an educator, or for you to follow an experienced nurse on a visit where they are performing that skill to help bring you up to speed. I would ask at that interview what skills they feel will be needed, and be honest about what you would need support with. I did that at my interview for my current job and they gave me the job and the training in the few random things that I was not yet comfortable with.

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Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.

That's adequate nursing experience. Otherwise, contemplate the aspects of being alone throughout your day, personal safety, environmental awareness, vehicle usage and maintenance, etc. Good luck!

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Specializes in ICU, Home Health and Hospice.

Thank you both for responding! It helps to hear from fellow nurses that my experience is adequate for a career in home health. I have a list of questions ready about mileage, distance, on call etc.. now let's hope I land the job!

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