Home Health Care Nurse

What a Home Health Care Nurse Does

A home health care nurse helps to care for the elderly, disabled, chronically ill or mentally impaired. They provide health care and assistance in the patient's home or a residential facility rather than in a hospital setting. Home health care nurses may have several patients and will often spend time traveling between them on a daily basis, though for high need patients one nurse may work with them exclusively. Daily tasks for a home health care nurse can include administering medication, checking on patients' stats, performing routine procedures and helping administer treatments that patients need. Some home health care nurses will also provide for the basic needs of patients, helping them to bathe or providing nutritious meals. At times, they must also provide support to patient's family members and other caretakers, instructing them on how best to care for the patient and providing emotional support.

How to Become a Home Health Care Nurse

Those who want to work as home health care nurses will need to complete an associate's or bachelor's degree program in nursing. This training will provide them with both in-class education and clinical experience that will help them to become an RN or LPN. Those who want to focus on a career in home health should also build skills in patience, communication and working well under stress as all these aspects of personality will be needed on the job to perform well. A degree in nursing is enough alone to provide for a career in home health, nurses must also become licensed. This requires taking a state licensing exam that will evaluate the knowledge and skills of nursing degree students on four major categories: client needs, health promotion, psychosocial integrity and physiological integrity. Specialized training in geriatrics, treatment of disabled patients and cutting edge technologies for home health care can also be useful in this field.

Career Outlook for Home Health Care Nurses

The career outlook for nurses who work in home health care should be strong through the coming decade. This is due largely to the aging Boomer generation who will need more health care as they age. Other factors like a preference for care in the home and advancement of technologies that allow nurses to perform complex procedures outside of a hospital setting also play a role. Job opportunities for nurses overall will see a 22% rise, but demand for home health care nurses in much higher. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates a 33% growth rate for home health care nurses, making it one of the fastest growing careers in the United States. Job opportunities should be plentiful and those who want to further hone their resumes should consider higher level degrees and specialized training in elder care and the latest medical technologies.