Skills needed to transition into Home Health

[northmississippi]

I have spent the last few years just being a med cart nurse at nursing homes. I think that if I left being a med cart/med pass nurse that home health would be a good job too, but I know I'd need to brush up on some stuff first. What are the most common skills that one would need to be in home health? I assume more assessment, wound care, specimen collection, and iv related issues. What else? Thanks.

[LucasARN]

You will definitely need to learn the new Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) guidelines for 2020. Home health world going to change but jobs will be plentiful with a lot of SNF patients will end up in Home Health with a lot of them closing their doors.

You will also need to deal with doing your schedule to meet MD frequency, mapping patients out and routing to be efficient. I use zigbuddy for that. Sounds like a hassle, which sometimes kind of is but it does allow some flexibility like starting when you like and you also get paid more.

[LucasARN]

You can learn a little about PDGM here: https://www.esolutionsinc.com/resources/billing-claims-management/what-is-pdgm-and-what-will-it-mean-for-your-hha/

[vool]

Everything else is just regular nurse stuff. In fact, it's usually easier as the patients are less acute than the hospital, however,

1. Don't work for staffing. With PDGM, the home care agencies would love to keep their patients to themselves instead of outsourcing.

2. Try not to bring home your notes. If you do, complete before midnight. The billing cycles are gonna be short, so you efficiency is gonna make the company their money. If you slack, the companies will see you as a loss and you won't get more patients.

3. May be work for more than one agencies. Because of the cap on PT visits, they are trying to reduce nursing visits and teaching therapists to do basic nursing stuff such as easy wound care or INR checks. Working for more companies assures you enough patients. Feeling overwhelmed, just say no! That's the beauty of home health

Good luck!

[Queen Tiye, RN]

Do pediatric home health and avoid these issues.