Home Health Employment with a Nursing Assistant Certification
Many individuals who are certified as a Nursing Assistant become frustrated with the medical facility environment. The often have to work as scheduled including holidays, deal with internal issues among staff, want more pay for the work they are doing, and don’t feel appreciated.
Home health care offers a great alternative to Nursing Assistants who want more freedom as well as the opportunity to get to know those they are caring for on a more personal level. Home health care is exactly that, offering basic assistance to those who need it in the privacy and comfort of their own home. Nursing Assistants will be performing many of the same tasks including feeding, bathing, and dressing the patients.
Most Nursing Assistants interested in working for home health seek employment with a home health agency. These agencies contract with the patient or their family to offer them services to be able to remain in their home rather than an assisted living facility. However, Nursing Assistants need to be aware home health care agencies generally offer additional services that they will be required to perform including paying bills, running errands, picking up medications, and taking the patient to scheduled appointments. In addition, there may be cooking and light housekeeping involved.
Many Nursing Assistants love home health care because it allows them to develop a schedule that works for them and they get to know their patients. Home health care generally allows you to make your own schedule. It will be reviewed by your supervisor as well as checked with the patients. Every effort is made to accommodate all involved. It is very likely you can customize the schedule around holidays and other events, giving you those days off.
Getting to know your patients while doing home health care is a perk you don’t often get in a medical facility. You sometimes can if you work in a long term care facility, but even then time is often limited and Nursing Assistants have to run to complete the workload they are given. Getting to know the patients in home health care can make the job more enjoyable.
Since home health care takes place in a person’s home with very little supervision, the background check is more intense than what is done to work in a medical facility. This is for the complete protection of the patients. You will have complete access to their home as well as be interacting with them one on one. Therefore any time of issue on your background check can keep you from being employed in home health care.
Be prepared for a references and past employers to be contacted. Home health care agencies will be looking for more than the length of employment and your skills. They will want to find out if you are organized, motivated, and able to work on your own without constant supervision. They will be investigating your promptness as well as how often you call off work, as well as the reasons why.
This is because home health care agencies don’t have the volume of staff to cover your patients if you show up late or don’t show up at all. This can result in patients needs going unmet and them becoming upset. That could result in patients choosing to end their contract with that home health care agency.
Nursing Assistants are more likely to earn more at a home health agency than in a medical facility. On average $2.25 more per hour. They are also more likely to be treated respectfully by their employer and co-workers. They want employees to be happy as this will help keep them as quality employees. Patients do not like for their assistant to continually change. They don’t like having that many new people in and out of their home. The home health care agency has to properly balance keeping the employees and the patients happy.
Before accepting any employment with a home health care agency, take the time to research them with the Better Business Bureau and state Medical Board. You do not want to involve yourself with any agency that does not participate in proper procedures for care of their patients. It is important to report any such issues immediately.
Helping Nursing Assistants with Dying and Death
Nursing Assistants are a unique group of individuals who are dedicated to providing patients with the best possible care. They work hard to make sure their basic needs are met. They often go the extra mile to provide patients and their families comfort. They are trained to work hard, multi-task, and assist Nurses with any type of emergency that arises on any given day. However, their goal is to help others feel better. Dealing with the harsh reality of dying and death can be very difficult for Nursing Assistants to deal with, especially for those new to the profession.
Dealing with the issue of dying and death is relevant in any field of the medical profession. It is even more common if you are working in a critical care of elderly care facility. This issue should be taken into careful consideration before a Nursing Assistant accepts a position in such a facility.
Since all people view death differently, a Nursing Assistant will be exposed to many things going on during this time, both with the patient and with their family members. For those who are very religious, praying and possibly figures from their Church will be present. Others are afraid to die, and fight for every last breath trying to hold on. Respecting the wishes of the patient and the family is very important during dying and death.
There are those Nursing Assistants who are upset when they have to deal with dying and death. They feel this is not what they signed up for. They want to help people. However, Nursing Assistants can be a great source of comfort and compassion for patients and their families during those precious last hours. Do all you can to keep the patient comfortable. Often, their mouths become very dry. Even if they don’t appear coherent, attempt to give them ongoing sips of water or ice chips. The lips may begin to crack, apply Chap Stick or Vaseline to prevent soreness.
Caring for dying patients requires you to remember details about them before they became so ill. For example, if a patient asked to be turned often because of soreness, continue to rotate how they are laying. Pay attention to their body temperature and adjust bedding, air conditioning, and heating as needed. A person will often become cold in the hours before death, so it is important to keep them as comfortable as possible.
Some signs of death Nursing Assistants should be familiar with include the loss of muscle tone, the slowing of circulation, changes in breathing, and blurred vision. It is important that the Nursing Assistant document such changes in the patient’s chart and immediately notify the charge Nurse of the situation.
While a patient is dying, the Nursing Assistant can help make the process easier for the patient. Adequate pain medications should be administered as needed to reduce the pain. Play the music the patient enjoys. Consider reading them a favorite book or Bible passages. Sometimes they will need extra comfort including someone to hold their hand. A Nursing Assistant can assume this role. Often, Nursing Assistants can rely on each other to help make the situation easier. Many employers also offer counseling services if you feel they are necessary after dealing with dying and death of one of your patients. It is often easy to become attached to patients you care for on a regular basis. Your employer is well aware of this, and will want to help you feel better in your role as a Nursing Assistant.
Many individuals who are certified as a Nursing Assistant become frustrated with the medical facility environment. The often have to work as scheduled including holidays, deal with internal issues among staff, want more pay for the work they are doing, and don’t feel appreciated.
Home health care offers a great alternative to Nursing Assistants who want more freedom as well as the opportunity to get to know those they are caring for on a more personal level. Home health care is exactly that, offering basic assistance to those who need it in the privacy and comfort of their own home. Nursing Assistants will be performing many of the same tasks including feeding, bathing, and dressing the patients.
Most Nursing Assistants interested in working for home health seek employment with a home health agency. These agencies contract with the patient or their family to offer them services to be able to remain in their home rather than an assisted living facility. However, Nursing Assistants need to be aware home health care agencies generally offer additional services that they will be required to perform including paying bills, running errands, picking up medications, and taking the patient to scheduled appointments. In addition, there may be cooking and light housekeeping involved.
Many Nursing Assistants love home health care because it allows them to develop a schedule that works for them and they get to know their patients. Home health care generally allows you to make your own schedule. It will be reviewed by your supervisor as well as checked with the patients. Every effort is made to accommodate all involved. It is very likely you can customize the schedule around holidays and other events, giving you those days off.
Getting to know your patients while doing home health care is a perk you don’t often get in a medical facility. You sometimes can if you work in a long term care facility, but even then time is often limited and Nursing Assistants have to run to complete the workload they are given. Getting to know the patients in home health care can make the job more enjoyable.
Since home health care takes place in a person’s home with very little supervision, the background check is more intense than what is done to work in a medical facility. This is for the complete protection of the patients. You will have complete access to their home as well as be interacting with them one on one. Therefore any time of issue on your background check can keep you from being employed in home health care.
Be prepared for a references and past employers to be contacted. Home health care agencies will be looking for more than the length of employment and your skills. They will want to find out if you are organized, motivated, and able to work on your own without constant supervision. They will be investigating your promptness as well as how often you call off work, as well as the reasons why.
This is because home health care agencies don’t have the volume of staff to cover your patients if you show up late or don’t show up at all. This can result in patients needs going unmet and them becoming upset. That could result in patients choosing to end their contract with that home health care agency.
Nursing Assistants are more likely to earn more at a home health agency than in a medical facility. On average $2.25 more per hour. They are also more likely to be treated respectfully by their employer and co-workers. They want employees to be happy as this will help keep them as quality employees. Patients do not like for their assistant to continually change. They don’t like having that many new people in and out of their home. The home health care agency has to properly balance keeping the employees and the patients happy.
Before accepting any employment with a home health care agency, take the time to research them with the Better Business Bureau and state Medical Board. You do not want to involve yourself with any agency that does not participate in proper procedures for care of their patients. It is important to report any such issues immediately.
Helping Nursing Assistants with Dying and Death
Nursing Assistants are a unique group of individuals who are dedicated to providing patients with the best possible care. They work hard to make sure their basic needs are met. They often go the extra mile to provide patients and their families comfort. They are trained to work hard, multi-task, and assist Nurses with any type of emergency that arises on any given day. However, their goal is to help others feel better. Dealing with the harsh reality of dying and death can be very difficult for Nursing Assistants to deal with, especially for those new to the profession.
Dealing with the issue of dying and death is relevant in any field of the medical profession. It is even more common if you are working in a critical care of elderly care facility. This issue should be taken into careful consideration before a Nursing Assistant accepts a position in such a facility.
Since all people view death differently, a Nursing Assistant will be exposed to many things going on during this time, both with the patient and with their family members. For those who are very religious, praying and possibly figures from their Church will be present. Others are afraid to die, and fight for every last breath trying to hold on. Respecting the wishes of the patient and the family is very important during dying and death.
There are those Nursing Assistants who are upset when they have to deal with dying and death. They feel this is not what they signed up for. They want to help people. However, Nursing Assistants can be a great source of comfort and compassion for patients and their families during those precious last hours. Do all you can to keep the patient comfortable. Often, their mouths become very dry. Even if they don’t appear coherent, attempt to give them ongoing sips of water or ice chips. The lips may begin to crack, apply Chap Stick or Vaseline to prevent soreness.
Caring for dying patients requires you to remember details about them before they became so ill. For example, if a patient asked to be turned often because of soreness, continue to rotate how they are laying. Pay attention to their body temperature and adjust bedding, air conditioning, and heating as needed. A person will often become cold in the hours before death, so it is important to keep them as comfortable as possible.
Some signs of death Nursing Assistants should be familiar with include the loss of muscle tone, the slowing of circulation, changes in breathing, and blurred vision. It is important that the Nursing Assistant document such changes in the patient’s chart and immediately notify the charge Nurse of the situation.
While a patient is dying, the Nursing Assistant can help make the process easier for the patient. Adequate pain medications should be administered as needed to reduce the pain. Play the music the patient enjoys. Consider reading them a favorite book or Bible passages. Sometimes they will need extra comfort including someone to hold their hand. A Nursing Assistant can assume this role. Often, Nursing Assistants can rely on each other to help make the situation easier. Many employers also offer counseling services if you feel they are necessary after dealing with dying and death of one of your patients. It is often easy to become attached to patients you care for on a regular basis. Your employer is well aware of this, and will want to help you feel better in your role as a Nursing Assistant.
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