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Becoming a certified HIV nurse is not required for this role but may improve job prospects or salary potential. Home care nursing jobs are available through home health agencies, hospice organizations, retirement communities, and insurance companies. In addition, some government agencies hire public health nurses to visit vulnerable patient populations in their homes to help improve access to care. Individuals paid per visit get paid from private insurance companies or government programs.
He or she may not even have disposal access at all, causing them to recap the needle, which results in most needle stick injuries. Integrating these skills as well as performing task-based services are part of home health nursing. However, if you like a lot of people around you, other healthcare settings may be better suited for you. Each state also sets its own RN or LPN/LVN requirements for maintaining a license; most of these require continuing professional education.
Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
In general, a home health nurse will provide follow-up treatment after a patient is discharged from the hospital or another healthcare facility. Given the growing population of older adults, more and more older people are looking for affordable healthcare options that allow them to remain as independent as possible. To avoid burnout, nurses need to pay special attention to their safety and mental and physical health. Nursing, in general, is a stress-filled profession, and home health nurses in particular face challenges related to commuting, working alone, and entering uncontrolled home environments. Home nurses may benefit from digging into the resources provided by the Healthy Nurses Healthy Nations Grand Challenge. The following resources are a great place to start if you’d like to dig deeper into becoming a home health nurse.

A Home Health Nurse does not have access to additional staff for assistance in case a patient confrontation escalates. Home Health Nurses must be diligent to check their safety and surroundings, remain calm, and report any suspicious activity or safety concerns when appropriate. Without a sharps container nearby, the nurse may have to administer a medication and then walk a distance to dispose of the needle in another room.
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RNs need a unique set of characteristics to do well in this unique healthcare career. With no team of medical staff just down the hall, home health nurses need to be confident in their nursing abilities—and in their roles as patient advocates. Without the benefit of a care team or an entire unit working with you in a medical facility, home health nurses need to develop a wider array of skills to respond to problems that might arise. “With home nursing, you are mostly on your own,” says Beth Hawkes, MSN, RN-BC and owner of Nurse Code. She explains that you primarily need bedside care skills for the constant work, but you also need to develop the ability to respond well without aid in the case of an emergency.
Although the Southeastern and Western Kentucky campuses have Nurse Aide programs, they require completing the 75-hour nurse aide training course before admission. In some instances, a licensed practical or vocational nurse might also be able to work as a home health nurse. These positions earn a median salary of $48,820 per year, according to the BLS. Home health nurses have many of the same responsibilities as a nurse working in a regular medical facility.
Who is best suited for this job?
Becoming a home healthcare nurse can be a rewarding career, financially and personally. Home nurses can develop longer-lasting relationships with patients and experience the satisfaction of helping keep patients in their own homes. Following entry-level, there are several Home Health Nurse career path levels to advance into. It can take 2 years as an entry-level Home Health Nurse to progress to the supervisor home health nurse position.
Nationwide, home health aides earn annual salaries of$29,430, while Kentucky’s HHAs earn$29,200. Henderson’s program focuses on assisted living, hospice settings, and home health agency training. Successful home health nurses must be organized, detail-oriented, and possess effective communication and problem-solving skills.
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Home health nurses must be skilled at working one-on-one with individual patients. Providing personalized patient care should be their top priority and skill they've honed. If you're driven to lead, this online nursing degree will provide you everything needed to make that career a reality. If you don't currently have an RN and don't qualify for your nursing prelicensure program, consider getting our Bachelor's Degree in Health Services Coordination instead. This degree allows you to work inside the healthcare industry in a unique way. If you don't live in one of our prelicensure states or don't qualify to apply, consider getting our Bachelor's Degree in Health Services Coordination instead.
Focus on industry-specific skill development during your education in order to be properly equipped when applying for entry-level positions and entering the job force. A Home Health Nurse internship may be required to earn your Bachelor's Degree and acquire necessary on-the-job skills before entering the workforce. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , home health certified nursing assistants make approximately $33,250 per year.
Communicate with other members of the interdisciplinary healthcare team, such as primary care providers, physical therapists or social workers. Because the program consists of the nurse aide, medication nurse aide, and the five-credit Kentucky Medication Aide course, tuition increases accordingly. Also, like Gateway, this program includes home health care agency training. Under Kentucky’s agreement, all nurse aide training runs through the Community and Technical College system. These programs often take about one year to complete and are available at community colleges and technical schools.

Home Health Nursing provides the opportunity to work independently as part of a wider care team, serving a wide range of patients with different medical needs. How to become a home healthcare nurse will depend on your situation and goals. Earning an LPN/LVN license is fastest, but it is not as valuable as an ADN or a BSN degree and an RN license. Although state registered nurse aides experience a wage gap of $230 a year, Kentucky’s lower cost of living places it inninth placefor affordability, according to US News and World Reports. Although many of these people reside in skilled nursing facilities, others “step down” into in-home care settings, especially those needing hospice and end-of-life services.
These nurses typically work for a home health agency that will match them with patients to care for. They can expect to travel to their patients’ homes and work either on shifts, assisting one patient for several hours at a time, or intermittently, traveling to care for several patients in one day. Working as a home health nurse can be incredibly rewarding, however, it also presents some major challenges. Home health nurses must have exceptional organizational skills, as they are often managing multiple patients in different locations on their own with limited access to other healthcare personnel. Additionally, they must be prepared to respond to emergency situations quickly and efficiently while working in unpredictable environments such as private residences or outdoor settings.
