What is a Home Health Nurse? And How to Become One Aspen University

Table of Content

• Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
• Our Online University Degree Programs Start on the First of Every Month, All Year Long
• Who is best suited for this job?
• Focus on Nursing-Specific Job Posting Sites
• Elizabethtown Community and Technical College: Medicaid Nurse Aide — Kentucky Medication Aide
• How to Become a Home Health Nurse?

Working as a home health nurse requires no certification and therefore there are no continuing education requirements for certification. At one time, a Home Health Clinical Nurse Specialist Certification was available, but it is no longer offered. Nurses who have already earned this certification and who wish to maintain it can renew it.

If you want to be a home health nurse, choosing between the RN and LPN training pathways may be very difficult for you. The difference between time commitments and costs can make aiming to become an LPN more appealing in the short term, but the earning potential for RNs, particularly those with BSNs, is much higher. As you explore your options, you should keep in mind that there are also “bridge” programs designed to help LPNs transition to careers as RNs.

Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)

The nurse wants the family and patient to trust them as they are allowing the home health care specialist into their homes and are often left alone with their loved ones. No, home healthcare nursing is not a common career choice for men at this time – this workforce is still overwhelmingly female. According to a 2015 NYU study, the percentage of males in nursing grew from 8.8% to 13.6% between 2005 and 2015. Men who choose this rewarding career path may face some social stigma, but the trend is towards better options for men in healthcare.

Earning a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration can take 4 years to complete. People that have earned their Bachelor's Degree typically make $83,221 compared to $40,639 for those without that type of degree. You can now earn the terminal degree in nursing with Herzing University. We are proud to offer our first doctoral degree, the Doctor of Nursing Practice , designed for nurses who hold an MSN. Becoming a licensed home health nurse usually require a college degree.

Our Online University Degree Programs Start on the First of Every Month, All Year Long

Because the home environment can often be unpredictable, a sense of humor and a positive attitude can come in handy as well. Below are occupations that have high affinity with Home Health Nurse skills. Discover some of the most common Home Health Nurse career transitions, along with skills overlap. After getting your degree, you’ll have to take the National Council Licensure Exam either for Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PN) or Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). You will need topass the NCLEXin order to become licensed to work as a nurse. Manage an Alzheimer patient daily care including bathing, feeding and administer any medication.

Promote excellence in nursing by enabling future and current nurses with the education and employment resources they need to succeed. Confused or angry patients, such as those with dementia or Alzheimer's, can become agitated or violent with a stranger in their home. The risk increases if the nurse must do something that will cause pain, such as injections or lab draws.

Who is best suited for this job?

A BSN is the most valuable undergraduate nursing degree if you want to become an administrator, nurse educator, or advanced practice nurse. Some nurses also go on to earn a two-yearmaster’s degree in nursingto become an advanced practice nurse or clinical nurse specialist in a home healthcare setting. While it will certainly help your career opportunities and earnings, you do not need a bachelor’s degree to become a home health nurse.

Most employers require or strongly prefer at least 1-2 years of experience before becoming a home healthcare nurse because you will be working by yourself most of the time without immediate backup. Home healthcare nurses may be paid by the hour, by the patient, or by salary. Employers might provide a travel allowance or reimburse travel expenses. This guide explains how to become a home healthcare nurse and what to expect.

Critical thinking.Making decisions quickly and being able to change directions and switch plans is key. Emergencies may arise frequently, so knowing the correct protocol and remaining calm is important. Being a skilled and calm critical thinker is a crucial skill as a home health nurse. For instance, you might opt to specialize in gerontology, pediatrics, or hospice care. Decide which area of nursing interests you most and gain the necessary certifications.

This degree allows you to work inside the healthcare industry, while also working directly with patients who need help. For those who are seeking to advance their nursing career further, anMSN degreeis a good option. Whatever your goals within the field of nursing, at WGU we're here to help. There are many education, certification, and experience requirements to become a home health nurse. Homebound patients must be assessed daily as they often have chronic or serious conditions that require constant monitoring. Home health nurses should be able to quickly evaluate patients and assess which type of care needs to be given in order to keep the patient comfortable and as healthy as possible.

Below you can see how much different training pathways tend to cost. A CNA additionally helps with things like medication management, taking vital signs, updating medical records, and providing limited wound care. Depending on the state, an HHA may be permitted to do some of the same tasks. As a nurse, you will have more training than the HHAs and CNAs that you supervise, but they often have more face-to-face time with the patient. Direct care workers are often the first people to speak up about a problem, and supervising nurses respond by providing additional assessments and expertise.

Their patients typically have been released from a hospital after medical procedures or those with chronic needs. Featured or trusted partner programs and all school search, finder, or match results are for schools that compensate us. This compensation does not influence our school rankings, resource guides, or other editorially-independent information published on this site. According toZipRecruiter datafrom June 2022, the national average salary for anHIV/AIDS nurse is $73,460 per year and $35 per hour. Nationwide, home health aides earn annual salaries of $29,430, while Kentucky’s HHAs earn$29,200.

Elizabethtown Community and Technical College: Medicaid Nurse Aide — Kentucky Medication Aide

Because of this, it’s important for these nurses to have effective time management skills and to be self-sufficient. In addition, it’s essential that they have strong communication skills as they will interact with the patient’s families to discuss care needs. A home health nurse provides home-based care for patients of all ages.