Careers in Home Health Care Versus Nursing Homes
Once you have decided to pursue a Home Health Aide or CNA career, you’ll need to think about where you might want to work. As you already know, there is a high demand for health care workers, and nursing homes and home health care are two of the most popular options considered by certified HHA’s and nurse aides. Nursing homes will require you to work with primarily senior citizens, while home health aide positions will permit you to work inside a private home or convalescent community with a broader spectrum of clientele. These patients typically include persons who are disabled, mentally impaired, critically ill, or temporarily incapacitated. Your preference is very much a matter of personal choice, but here are some things to also consider before settling on one setting over another.
Types of Tasks Within Each Setting
Generally, the tasks you will be required to perform will be the same – tending to grooming, hygiene, and taking and recording vitals. Unlike in a nursing home, where there are orderlies and janitorial employees, HHA’s and hospice care CNA’s will often perform light housekeeping duties and may be asked to run certain errands for the family. Whether you are employed privately or through a home health care service will be the deciding factor. Working privately has its benefits, especially concerning the level of pay, but you may be expected to perform these additional chores including cooking and assisting with young children.
Naturally, you will need to be more independent when working in a patient’s residence either privately or through a service, and keeping any necessary supplies on hand at the home is an additional task you will deal with. As a home health care CNA, you will likely get to know the patient and their family quite well, at least more so as compared to brief encounters with relatives in a nursing home. Let’s face it, not everyone is exactly a charmer, and some families can be downright disagreeable. Often, this is due to stress caused by their loved one’s illness, but sometimes, you may encounter truly unpleasant people. This is more likely to occur in hospice or when working for an agency, as you don’t get to choose who your patients are.
Number of Patients
This is probably one of the biggest differences for obvious reasons. In home care, you will work with one patient for extended periods, often up to 8 hours, depending on the patient’s status. You may finish your duties quickly, and be left with not much to do beside taking vitals and checking on the patient. If none of your patients is on full-time watch, you may have several specific patients to attend to each day, and they will usually be the same patients, so you know what to expect.
In a nursing home, you may be assigned an entire wing of patients to work solo, or in partnership with a team of nursing assistants. Every senior care facility operates differently. Patient assignments may work on a rotating basis, while others prefer to keep patients with familiar caregivers. This is something you may want to ask about when interviewing for a job at a facility. Not only does it show that really know what you’re facing, but also that you are interested in the job’s specifications – eagerness is always a bonus with interviewers.
Office Politics and Team Work
If you don’t like to get involved in this all too common practice, working within a facility may not be right for you. Nursing homes and senior care institutions require you to work closely with a team of caregivers, so if you enjoy that scene and the sense of camaraderie it can provide, go for it. Many CNA’s prefer to have an organized structure as opposed to driving around town and being responsible for transporting supplies for patients. Those who prefer to do their own thing and work independently are perfectly oriented for home health care positions. The most successful home heath aides are highly motivated, enjoy getting to know their charges, and have no problem getting their work done without constant oversight.
Gaining Valuable Experience
Regardless of which type of working environment you prefer, you will likely learn quite a few new skills very quickly on the job. If you plan to pursue higher levels of nursing in the future, either one of these types of employment will prove invaluable because each experience is unique. You’ll quickly discover which is just right for you as you progress in your training and experience as a certified nurse aide, and both of these options will provide you with a world of opportunities and a good CNA salary.
602 total views, 1 today