In any profession, if you love what you do, the journey becomes very exciting. There are high tides and smooth sailing – on and off. You experience life-changing moments and people you’ll never forget.
When it comes to the healthcare profession, nurses are the ones down in the trenches. They may have worked in a variety of settings including, private, hospital, and other special and emergency duties. A seasoned and well-experienced nurse will probably have worked everywhere… from hospitals to small clinics.
Normally, a qualified home health care nurse is expected to provide personal care assistance services like helping with daily routines, bathing, personal hygiene, dressing, and mobility. Here are some tips from other working nurses and home health aides to get you through your days:
- Have a good sense of humor.
As a nurse you have to be brave enough to laugh at yourself. This doesn’t just apply to your job of course. It’s a good practice for every aspect in life. If you take your life too seriously, no career will be enjoyable. Learn how to see the irony and humor in the hardest situations. Keeping your attitude positive and upbeat in the face of challenges is a muscle you’ll have to work out to grow but it gets easier with practice. - Be open minded.
You’ll always have to adjust yourself according to the environment. Aim to be comfortable and confident enough that you can easily do what you are hired to achieve. You may go in expecting one situation and it turns out to be something completely different. Flexibility is key here, and will serve you well. However, wherever you are, either in the hospital or at a patient’s house, you’ll still have to follow the basics including; nursing policies, safety rules, and correct performance of procedures. - Learn to modify.
Sometimes, you have to make due with what you have on hand. For example, you may have to hang an IV drip, and the pharmacy forgot to send you the IV pole. In this situation, you have to come up with a quick solution. You may use a coat hanger, broom handle or any other firm and tall pole to hang the IV. Make sure that the modifications are safe and appropriate, and be sure to note the modification and request proper equipment as soon as possible. If anything will go wrong, nobody will blame the pharmacy who forgot to send the pole, but everyone will blame you. - Be prepared.
Be very well-prepared. Carry items that nobody would expect you’ll be carrying except for any other smart and experienced nurse. For example, when a pet eats the patient’s box of dressings, or the patient has bed sores that didn’t show up on the hospital discharge information you’ll have to get things under control – and fast. In these situations, it’s best if your car’s trunk looks like a supply closet. - Be organized.
If you are a nurse providing home care, it is likely that you will be driving between multiple patients’ houses. In this case, consider your car your office. Be sure your health “office” contains ample office supplies for paperwork, your laptop computer, cell phone, chargers, utility lights, pens, first-aid kits, medicines, and dressing materials. Also, to cut down your office expenses, invest in a GPS device to ensure you plan your routes intelligently and to avoid traffic, construction, and detours saving those extra miles. - Be alert and be safe.
As a home health care nurse, your challenges would be different than the challenges in a hospital. You won’t have a team of support personnel to back you up in an emergency. Take a self-defense class and learn which areas are the unsafe neighborhoods in your area. Learn how to manage a mentally unstable person who is not too happy with you for taking care of them or giving them their medicine.