Question for Homecare Nurses

Updated on November 29, 2010
L.B. asks from Berwick, ME
4 answers

I recently took a position with a homecare company as a per diem RN - pay per visit. I have always worked in hospitals and I am new to homecare. I am wondering if it is worth it, I know I am slow because I am in a new arena, but I get paid for the visit and I do not get paid for any of the pre and post work that I do and it seems that I spend hours on pre and post issues and documenting. There is so much paper work. for example today I saw two patient's each visit took aprox 45 minutes but I worked for 5 hours but I only get paid for the 2 visits. I do enjoy the work but I do have to make a living too, Is it worth, does it get better?

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So What Happened?

Thanks for the comments, I plan to stick it out a little longer. I have become much faster with documentation but still end up not making much when I calculate the hours I worked compared to money I am making. The plus about this job is that I get to make my own hours and do not need a babysitter - I like that freedom so I guess it is a trade off for now.

More Answers

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B.C.

answers from New York on

L.,
Look for another agency, some agency's pay for documentation time spent. However do you document at the bedside? if not that might need to happen so that when your visit is over it's really over. Make the calls from the patient's home so if you need to increase a med or place an order for DME you do it during the visit . This way the patient see's that you are attending to their needs in real time and not on your time. You did mention you are new to this your time might get better the more visit's you go on. Try looking over other RN's documentation is their's less detailed then yours? Maybe your spending too much time documenting? I have seen that happen a million times especailly the newer staff. They document a book for fear of leaving something out. It should get better if it doesn't try another agency, or try an HMO they are always looking for nurses who want to do tele-a-health. Good luck.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.M.

answers from Oklahoma City on

My mother is a homecare nurse but to my knowledge she has never worked per diem. She just moved to Oklahoma where she accepted a new homecare position at about $55k annually. Taking into account the differences in cost of living between OK and CT, does this help you decide if you're getting paid enough?

Another thought--is it legal for your company to refuse to pay you for the time you spend on paperwork after the visit?

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J.L.

answers from Minneapolis on

.

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C.W.

answers from Lynchburg on

Dear L.-

I had home health care nurses for my medically challenged daughter (trach, vent, o2, feeding tube, BP/heart meds etc) and they did 8 hour or 12 hour shifts in my home. The night nurses were compensated VERY well...and I was told the hourly rate was better than the same shift in a hospital. The down side was obviously NOT having 'back up' of hospital 'stuff' when/if a child crashed...

In my experience, GOOD night nurses were hard to find...but worth their weight in GOLD...certainly to the family with medically fragile kids...finally home.

Two of my very dearest friends were nurses I met when providing services to my miracle daughter.

Just a thought
Michele/cat

1 mom found this helpful
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