do you refuse to do laundry, or housekeeping? What are some things clients have asked you to do, that you felt was not your responsibility?
I have a case where all I do, is come to the home and clean, nothing else. Is this the role of a home health aide/nurse?
Also, this client in particular, tells me that he wants me to cook, which is fine, but the things he wants me to cook is fried chicken, fried fish, meat loaf, lamb, pork chops, greens, ribs, turkey, yams, soulfood I am not much of a cook at all. In the past, with other clients, I've made them soup, or prepared frozen meals, but I've never done any serious cooking.
Everytime I arrive to the home, he addresses this to me, and says that it's a problem and it irritates him that I don't know how to make these type of things. I spoke to the agency and they said don't worry about it, the man is just "crazy", and that his wife will leave his meal every morning for me to warm up. They say he calls the agency several times a day, making all kinds of various complaints.
Today, he was upset and called the agency while i was there, saying "you sent me a person who doesn't know how to COOK..." and it was rather uncomfortable talking about me as if I wasn't there, but like they said, the man is a bit unstable mentally and that I should ignore it.
Has any other homehealth aides/nurses been through this?
You violated the law by aiding the granddaughter to leave her home while on "house arrest". None of the repair work you described is on any job description for a home health aide or nurse. When you walked the dog, you were not with your patient.
Members of the patient's family need to do or arrange for home repairs and walk the dog. There is no workers' compensation or other insurance coverage, if you are injured while doing things like that.
Light cleaning, laundry and cooking, as well as assisting patients with ADLs is in the job description of HH aides from agencies. When you frelance, your actions are your responsibility.
Specializes in med-surg, teaching, cardiac, priv. duty.
Your boundary should be clearly outlined in the Plan of Care (POC) in the chart. If it is not in the home, the POC and med list is usually taped to the refrigerator door. It says everything that you're expected to do, and you can point to it whenever a patient wants more than that....
Yes, of course, the plan of care does outline what the nurse or aide is suppose to do skill wise. But my point is that it is not nearly that simple as following the POC. I am talking about professionalism and professional boundaries in general. They need to know the "WHY" behind why they should strictly follow the POC. Working in a private home is a more private and personal setting. Unique issues can arise. More inservice education is needed on things like:
*The psycho-social dynamics and dysfunctional coping mechanisms typically encountered in families with a long-term disabled loved one. Home care workers should not be caught off guard, but be prepared for some of the behavioral "issues" they may encounter in these families.
*The importance of health care workers in the home keeping a professional "distance" from the pt/family so that they can maintain objectivity. It can be so easy, in the casual setting of a home, to start to act more like a friend. If one gets too "friendly", one can get enmeshed in the situation and not even realize it, and start making risky subjective decisions. Or start doing things not on the POC. (This is especially important for the private duty nurse who will be making more critical decisions than an aide.)
*Appropriate general behavior when working in a private home. Such as respecting privacy, personal space, personal belongings, etc.
So...I was referring to inservice education being needed in regards to general professionalism and general appropriate behavior in a private home. Some of this may seem like "common sense" but my personal experience is that common sense is not so common! I could give a lot of examples..... I saw one nurse who became so friendly with the family that she became completely enmeshed in the dysfunctional family dynamic without even realizing it. She began making some very serious errors in nursing judgment. It created a huge problem...
I am an RN in SC that does home health and I have never cleaned a patient's home or cooked a meal. We provide education, wound care, IV meds, and assessments. I do alot of the same things I did in the unit. If we start cleaning house's I am definetly going back to the hospital.
Yeah....I have some great patients that I hang onto for dear life - but I've had some like that too... Best advice given to me, and that I use often now... IF ever anyone trying to blur that proffessional role - I let them know the VERY first time they do it... what my role is, what they can expect from me, and that anything beyond a proffessional relationship can't be tolerated...I also tell them that should they not be able to respect that role then I will be forced to decline the case. It usually works. My agency has had no complaints against me either...so I guess it works! GOod luck!
lamaze teacher needs to take a Xanax and chill, you are just like the 99.9% of typa A female nurses I work with. Many people on "house arrest" are able to be employed. I walked the dog and did the other things on MY own DAMN time. My employer does not have WC anyway, and I guarantee they would pay for injuries sustained while at a patient's home. We have had staff attacked by dogs, family members and even neighbors and the company paid. Heaven forbid a HH nurse go above and beyond what is expected. I also have purchased groceries, clothes and medications for my patients. You remind me of the nurse that had just clocked out and passed someone in the hall in need and tells them "sorry I can't help you, I just clocked out" You sound like a know it all LVN
truern
2,016 Posts
Wouldn't the job expectations be different for a licensed person vs a sitter or aide?? The OP is PRE nursing school according to her profile.