Make A Difference In The Life Of Your Patient At Home By Becoming A Home Health Nurse
Posted on: 10 May 2017
It may be that you'd like to change the kind of nursing services you offer at this stage of your nursing career. Perhaps you are feeling burnout from hospital nursing jobs. If you're looking for a one-on-one personal relationship with your patient, there is good reason for you to try home care nursing. You can make a difference in the life of your patient when you become a home health nurse.
What It Takes For You To Become A Home Care Nurse
In order for you to become a home care skilled nurse offering care for patients in their homes, you must be either a Registered Nurse (RN), a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) or a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN). If you are an LPN, you will be supervised by an RN. Expect to handle patients who are discharged from hospitals to home in your future work.
Patient Discharged To Home
Just before an inpatient is discharged to home, they're bombarded with all kinds of instructions about what to do when they return home. There are medication instructions among other things they'll have to do when at home. Your care will become an important part of your patient's life as you assess and make recommendations for a healthy rehabilitation at home.
Visiting The Patient At Home
You the home health nurse will visit your patient at home to begin the process for a physical assessment. You're going to check if the patient understands medications and treatments. You'll make sure your patient understands the disease process that's affecting his or her life. If there is a need to give additional teaching, you will be offering that service.
Assessing Mobility Of Your Patient
You will be assessing your patient's mobility and learning whether there are any obstructions such as throw rugs that could possibly cause the patient to stumble and suffer a fall inside the home. You'll be checking for other obstacles that may cause a problem for your patient in the home environment. From all the observations you've made, you'll develop a suitable care plan that benefits activities of daily living for the patient. So if mobility in the physical environment is problematic or limited, you'll be recommending a physical therapy evaluation.
Other Duties
You could be required to perform wound care and dressing changes. You might have a patient who needs ostomy/colostomy teaching and management. A patient may require IV management, and you'll oversee administration of medication. Injections and diabetic foot care as well as managing urinary catheters, tubes, drains and bags could be care that you must also administer. Diabetic care and teaching will be conducted by you. The satisfaction you receive from being a home care nurse and the personal relationship you develop with your patient will positively impact your patient's life. Contact a business that offers home care nursing for more information.
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