Home Health

Registered nurses are the most familiar faces in the home health arena, but other healthcare professionals, e.g. LPNs/LVNs, nursing aides/assistants, personal care workers, respiratory therapists speech-language pathologists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists, also work in home care. Healthcare professionals working in home health must be able to function well as part of an interdisciplinary team.

Home health professionals have a caseload of patients (e.g., post-surgical/post-hospital, pre-/post-partum, palliative care, hospice, chronically ill) that are visited one or more times per week, depending on their situation. While patients are usually visited at home, they may also be visited at school or in their workplace.

As a home care professional, you will be able to get out regularly, while still providing hands-on care. In this job, you must be able to work flexible hours to meet the needs of the patients. And, since you are conducting onsite visits, you will need a valid and clear drivers' license as well as auto insurance. (Your employer may provide a company vehicle.)

Previous experience is not always required to work in home health. You must be respectful of other lifestyles, economic situations, races, ethnicities, and traditions. Having a second language is always helpful!

Home care professionals must be adaptable, highly organized, and people-oriented and have strong assessment, documentation, communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and teaching skills.

Home health job duties include case management, developing and evaluating care plans, providing ongoing assessments, implementing physicians' orders, providing hands-on care (e.g., wound care/dressing changes, starting/managing IVs, glucometer checks, venipuncture), liaising with other healthcare professionals, and ongoing patient and family teaching. You may also be required to lift/carry/push heavy objects or patients, so if you are only able to handle work classified as Light Work, home care may not be for you. You may also supervise and direct care provided by other staff, e.g., a registered nurse may supervise and direct care provided by LPNs.

See our article Dying at Home.

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