? Hello. I have been a nurse on a telemetry/cc floor for almost a year and a half. I believe HHN is where I belong. I would love to know what HH nurses consider the main skills/interventions (other than assessment skills), that a HH nurse needs to be prepared to do well.Many thanks! Sterlink
jnette, ASN, EMT-I 4,388 Posts Specializes in Hemodialysis, Home Health. Has 10 years experience. Oct 19, 2009 Hello there, Sterlink ! :) Welcome to AN, and to the HH forum.Lots of wound care skills, IV abx infusions, lab draws.. actually, there are pages of threads and posts here on the HH forum.. I'd say just take your time and browse through them. You'll probably find the answers to any questions you might have to help you come to a decision about HH. Enjoy, and hope you find what you need !
annaedRN, RN 519 Posts Specializes in LTC/hospital, home health (VNA). Has 10 years experience. Oct 20, 2009 yep- what jnette said. If it's done on med-surg, its done in the home...and then some! But...assessment is huge, as well as teaching and trouble shooting. Learning to adapt to the patient's environment rather than having the patient adapt to the hospital is often the biggest difference in HH nursing. It's challenging at times, but I wouldn't trade it for any other kind of nursing
caliotter3 38,333 Posts Oct 20, 2009 Agree with what was previously said. Assessment, teaching, and trouble shooting. That about covers all the bases.
KateRN1 1,191 Posts Specializes in COS-C, Risk Management. Has 20 years experience. Oct 21, 2009 I can't believe no one said communication. We have to be able to communicate effectively with patients, physicians, nurses, medical assistants, therapists, and everyone in between. I hate to see a note from a home health nurse that has things spelled wrong or grammatical errors, especially when it's being faxed to a doc. Your handwriting has to be legible as well as the content understandable. You have to be able to ask for what you want/need in such a way that others believe it to be their own idea.
tewdles, RN 3,156 Posts Specializes in PICU, NICU, L&D, Public Health, Hospice. Has 31 years experience. Oct 22, 2009 I can't believe no one said communication. We have to be able to communicate effectively with patients, physicians, nurses, medical assistants, therapists, and everyone in between. I hate to see a note from a home health nurse that has things spelled wrong or grammatical errors, especially when it's being faxed to a doc. Your handwriting has to be legible as well as the content understandable. You have to be able to ask for what you want/need in such a way that others believe it to be their own idea.Excellent point! In home care you have to make the docs feel like it is their idea...in hospice the docs expect you to make recommendations. Regardless, docs want your communications to be organized, concise, and accurate.
caliotter3 38,333 Posts Oct 23, 2009 One of my employers ignores written communications as well as phone coversations from the nurses, so I suppose one could write just about anything and it would fail to get noticed.
tewdles, RN 3,156 Posts Specializes in PICU, NICU, L&D, Public Health, Hospice. Has 31 years experience. Oct 23, 2009 gee caliotter3, wouldn't want to be a patient with your home care agency if they ignore the communications from the nurses.
