What does a Home Care Nurse do?
A home care nurse is responsible for providing quality health care for patients, usually in a private home setting. Home care nurses monitor patients' conditions and their medication and other treatments as prescribed by the attending physician or other health care professionals. They assist with the patients' daily activities such as bathing, feeding, and performing procedures such as taking the patients' temperature and vital signs, collecting specimens, and updating their medical chart.
Home care nurse responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real home care nurse resumes:
- Manage patient care monitoring vital signs, performing physical assessment, checking patients medications for effectiveness.
- Enter the nursing profession working in an ICU step down unit, with medical and surgical patients.
- Care for many patients with complex issues with compassion and care and enhances the standard of care within the clinical area.
- Provide care for pediatric patients with chronic illnesses and pediatric ventilator and tracheostomy patients.
- Provide home dialysis services to patients receiving rehabilitation in a nursing home setting utilizing NxStage machines.
- Monitor cardiac rhythms and treat per ACLS protocols
- Determine need for HHA or PCA services in the home.
- Respond to emergency situations; implement life saving measures per ACLS protocol
- Interpret EKG, BP, and pulse data to monitor for patient deterioration.
- Create care plans for HHA to follow according to patient's needs and diagnosis.
- Care for the individual with a supra-pubic catheter, strait catheter care, and g-tube care.
- Perform emergency medical procedures such as basic cardiac life support (BLS) and other stabilizing inventions.
- Coordinate bedside patient care for those coming out of the ICU and those coming in with heart relate illnesses.
- Skil in Hewlett Packard bedside monitoring , 12-lead EKG, drawing ABG and interpretation, multiple medication dispensing machines.
- Provide the necessary compassion and technical expertise need to buffer the many physical and emotional challenges associate with home care.
Home care nurse skills and personality traits
We calculated that 25% of Home Care Nurses are proficient in Patients, Home Health, and CPR. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Emotional stability.
We break down the percentage of Home Care Nurses that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 25%
Provide independent home assessments and evaluations for both post hospitalized and chronic care Medicaid and Medicare patients.
- Home Health, 18%
Contacted insurance companies regarding certification, or re-certification for home health visits.
- CPR, 8%
Remained current in first aid and CPR.
- Companionship, 8%
Provide care to disabled, medication monitoring, nutritious meals, transportation to physician appointments, companionship
- Social Work, 3%
Corresponded with hospital/rehabilitation social workers.
- Primary Care, 3%
Deliver primary care (including medications and treatment administration) and evaluate nursing staff and patient care according to predetermined standards.
Common skills that a home care nurse uses to do their job include "patients," "home health," and "cpr." You can find details on the most important home care nurse responsibilities below.
Communication skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a home care nurse to have is communication skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "registered nurses must be able to communicate effectively with patients in order to understand their concerns and evaluate their health conditions." Home care nurses often use communication skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "used good communication skills and companionship skills,"
Compassion. Many home care nurse duties rely on compassion. "registered nurses should be caring and empathetic when working with patients.," so a home care nurse will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways home care nurse responsibilities rely on compassion: "home health care provided friendly and compassionate care for a man coping with health issues. "
Emotional stability. home care nurses are also known for emotional stability, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to home care nurse responsibilities, because "registered nurses need emotional resilience and the ability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stressors." A home care nurse resume example shows how emotional stability is used in the workplace: "provide emotional support to family members. "
Organizational skills. For certain home care nurse responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "organizational skills." The day-to-day duties of a home care nurse rely on this skill, as "nurses often work with multiple patients who have a variety of health needs." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what home care nurses do: "received compliments on organizational skills when audited by state and wound care was found to be deficiency free. "
Detail oriented. Another crucial skill for a home care nurse to carry out their responsibilities is "detail oriented." A big part of what home care nurses relies on this skill, since "registered nurses must be precise because they must ensure that patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time." How this skill relates to home care nurse duties can be seen in an example from a home care nurse resume snippet: "oriented and supervised home health aides. "
Physical stamina. Lastly, "physical stamina" is an important element of what a home care nurse does. Home care nurse responsibilities require this skill because "nurses should be comfortable performing physical tasks, such as lifting patients." This resume example highlights how home care nurse duties rely on this skill: "provided home based nursing care including physical assessments, medication administration, diabetes management and installation of cardiac monitoring devices. "
The three companies that hire the most home care nurses are:
- BAYADA Home Health Care1,941 home care nurses jobs
- Trinity Health125 home care nurses jobs
- CARE71 home care nurses jobs
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Home care nurse vs. Registered nurse med/surg
The job of registered medical-surgical nurses is to care for patients with either surgical or non-surgical conditions. They are responsible for aiding patients to cope with their illness, prevent diseases, and promote good health. Entry-level registered nurses often rely on standardized care plans and medical procedures and make scientific-based nursing judgments. On the other hand, intermediate level nurses are more skilled in developing care plans that meet client needs. Requirements to become a medical-surgical nurse include a college degree in nursing, excellent assessment and observation skills, and patient education skills.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a home care nurse are more likely to require skills like "cpr," "companionship," "quality care," and "wound care." On the other hand, a job as a registered nurse med/surg requires skills like "bls," "acute care," "acls," and "telemetry." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Registered nurse med/surgs earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $74,800. On the other hand, home care nurses are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $52,015.registered nurse med/surgs tend to reach similar levels of education than home care nurses. In fact, registered nurse med/surgs are 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Home care nurse vs. Licensed practical nurse
Licensed practical nurses are considered leading front liners in the clinic or hospital setting. They assist nurses and doctors in conducting various activities related to sick or injured patients. Licensed practical nurses are primarily expected to provide routine care for patients and assist registered nurses in creating care plans. They maintain and update medical records, prepare patients for medical examinations, help patients dress, bath, or eat, take vital signs, administer and monitor medicine intake, monitor patients and update nurses and doctors on patient status, and assist during medical examinations.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that home care nurse responsibilities requires skills like "companionship," "social work," "primary care," and "in-home care." But a licensed practical nurse might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "resident care," "triage," "work ethic," and "emergency situations."
Licensed practical nurses may earn a lower salary than home care nurses, but licensed practical nurses earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $51,702. On the other hand, home care nurses receive higher pay in the health care industry, where they earn an average salary of $52,015.In general, licensed practical nurses achieve similar levels of education than home care nurses. They're 3.4% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Home Care Nurses in the next 3-5 years?
Associate Dean of the School of Nursing Professor of Nursing, Quinnipiac University
Home care nurse vs. Practical nurse
A practical nurse is responsible for providing the highest quality care services for the patients and assisting them with their needs and concerns. Practical nurses work within a health institution or private household to support the patients in their daily activities, monitor their conditions, administer medication, and inform the doctors of their health updates. They also coordinate with other medical professionals to develop nursing care plans and activities to suit the patients' lifestyle and keep their active wellbeing.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from home care nurse resumes include skills like "companionship," "social work," "quality care," and "wound care," whereas a practical nurse is more likely to list skills in "apn," "acute care," "physical examinations," and "diagnostic tests. "
Practical nurses make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $77,770. On the other hand, home care nurses are paid the highest salary in the health care industry, with average annual pay of $52,015.Most practical nurses achieve a higher degree level compared to home care nurses. For example, they're 16.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Home care nurse vs. Clinical research nurse
A clinical research nurse is responsible for conducting research studies on various health conditions, illness treatments, and healthcare methodologies, analyzing existing scientific research to make new reports. Clinical research nurses also communicate with other health professionals and health organizations for their insights and recommendations for a specific medical study, ensuring to report their findings to doctors and medical researchers for further validation and clinical trials. A clinical research nurse must have excellent knowledge of communication, both written and spoken, as well as expertise in the medical industry.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between home care nurses and clinical research nurses, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a home care nurse might have more use for skills like "cpr," "companionship," "social work," and "wound care." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of clinical research nurses require skills like "bls," "acute care," "acls," and "surgery. "
In general, clinical research nurses earn the most working in the education industry, with an average salary of $61,917. The highest-paying industry for a home care nurse is the health care industry.In general, clinical research nurses hold similar degree levels compared to home care nurses. Clinical research nurses are 3.7% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of home care nurse
Updated January 8, 2025