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.
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