Become a Home Health Nurse

Home health nurses provide care in the homes of their patients. Patients who need home health nursing are usually elderly or disabled, but they may also be recovering from an accident or suffering from a serious illness. Home health care involves assisting patients with basic needs such as bathing and dressing, as well as more specialized care, such as wound care, medication management and IV therapy.

Home Health Nurse Career Overview

Home health nurses and clinical nurse specialists work primarily for home health care agencies. They may work directly with patients or serve as administrators or policy developers. They may also work in hospitals and other settings as consultants and educators.

At the registered nurse (RN) level, home health nurses work to assess the home environment and determine the needs of patients. They may work with one patient on a long-term, full-time basis, or they may visit multiple patients each day. The following tasks are some of the common daily activities of a home health nurse:

• Administering medications
• Cleaning and dressing wounds
• Monitoring patient health and needs
• Documenting symptoms and vital signs
• Instructing patients and their families on proper home care
• Supervising home health aides
• Providing encouragement and support

Because patients are being discharged from hospitals sooner—and sicker—and because technological advances now make it possible to provide increasingly complex treatments in the home, there is an increasing need for highly skilled clinical nurse specialists in the home setting. Clinical nurse specialists have advanced education and experience with specific diseases, patient populations or treatment approaches. For example, a home health care clinical nurse specialist may focus on diabetes, geriatric care or rehabilitation.

Home Health Nurse Education

Home health nurses must be registered nurses (RNs). You can become an RN by completing a 4-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, a 2- to 3-year hospital diploma program or a 2-year Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN). The more education you get, the better your job prospects.

To become a home health care clinical nurse specialist, you will need a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree that includes specialized coursework in your desired focus area. Many nursing schools offer this type of degree through a 2-year program. You can then seek recognition as an advanced practice nurse (APN) by your state board of nursing and pursue whatever certification is appropriate to your specialty.

Home Health Nurse Salary

As of 2006, the Bureau of Labor Services reports that the median annual salary of a registered nurse in home health care is $54,190. According to PayScale.com, clinical nurse specialists make considerably more, from about $65,000 to $75,000 depending on experience. As with any nursing specialty, your income will vary depending on your training, certifications, location and years of experience.

Home Health Nurse Career Outlook

Home health nursing is one of the fastest growing fields in nursing for a variety of reasons. As previously mentioned, patients are being discharged from hospitals sooner and sicker due to financial pressures. In addition, the elderly population is increasing and many people over 55 have disabilities. Consumers have shown a clear preference for in-home care to hospitalization or long-term care facilities, creating more demand for home health nurses.

Job demand positively affects salaries, schedules, job openings, and the availability of training institutions and government grants for education. Since the health care industry is currently booming, there are many financial and educational incentives available to home health nurses. One of these is the nursing loan forgiveness program, which helps students pay back their nursing college loans as they work in a nursing setting. Learn more about this type of financial aid that allows you to gain valuable home health nursing experience while getting reimbursed for your nursing school education.

Source:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009.