Home Health RN

Choose A Different Work Environment As A Home Health RN

Most people consider the job of a registered nurse in a hospital setting or other medical environment, but the role of a home health RN is quite different. In a hospital, the job can be high paced, stressful and unpredictable, but a home health nurse works with people one on one in a calmer environment to ensure their rehabilitation or comfort. It is one of the many ranges of a registered nursing role, so if you like the idea of helping people but want a more relaxed setting, look further into this option.

Job Description

A home health nurse could have many duties, depending on the condition of their patients. Typically, they are assigned to follow up on patients who have recently been released from the hospital to ensure their proper rehabilitation, but in other cases the duties transcend mere healing. For disabled or elderly patients who can't get around easily or have conditions that need to be checked on regularly, a home health RN will visit their homes, assess their living environment and help them with necessary tasks.

This could involve administering medication, changing wound dressings, cleaning or treating incisions or infections or helping with physical therapy exercises. It could also include bathing and dressing the patient, checking and recording vital signs and helping them move from one room to another. They will then record all their actions and progress of the conditions of the patients to ensure they are healing or managing well.

Career Prospects

The employment opportunities of a home health RN are very good due to a variety of factors. There is an increased number of elderly people, many of which are disabled and must be tended to at home. Additionally, hospitals can't afford to keep patients long after their surgeries, so they are being discharged earlier while some treatment is still needed. Finally, more and more people prefer the comfort of being treated at home rather than in a medical environment.

Jobs are therefore plentiful and the salary is quite lucrative to meet the high demand. An average salary for a home health nurse is about $55,000 but can range up to about $75,000 with high levels of education and experience, like earning your master's degree to become a clinical nurse specialist. You will also have the opportunity to train home health aides that will assist you on the job. A home health RN is a great alternative for someone who prefers not to be in the middle of a fast paced environment but who still wants to give the care and treatment that a nurse is trained to do.

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