Especially as our population ages, Private Duty Nursing is much in demand. If you are interested in pursuing a career in this area, you will appreciate the information below from NurseJournal.org.
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Private Duty Nurse Career in Brief: LPN/LVN DIPLOMA, ADN, OR BSN REQUIRED
Private duty nursing, like home health nurses, provides care to patients in their home. Generally, home nursing care patients have serious conditions that require experienced nursing skills and professional judgment. Patients may be using a feeding tube for medication and nutrition, on a ventilator, or require a nurse to assess their condition. Typically, a private nurse sees the same patients regularly and works a scheduled shift, often the day shift.

Many patients who receive private duty nursing require additional support or care. Home health aides, certified nursing assistants (CNAs), or caretakers work under the private nurse's direction and help with daily living tasks such as bathing or dressing. For example, the private duty nurse may provide nutritional guidelines, while the CNA actually prepares meals.

Typical skills and responsibilities include:
Key Skills and Responsibilities

• Taking a patient's vital signs and updating their electronic health records
• Communicating any changes or patient needs to other clinical staff
• Supervising the work of CNAs or home health aides
• Making sure that medical equipment is functioning well
• Providing wound and other post-surgery care for patients
• Placing a feeding tube for patients who cannot take food orally

Career Traits

• Empathetic
• Strong communication skills
• Responsible
• Versatile

Where Do Private Duty Nurses Work?
While most private nurses provide home healthcare, they also provide care in hospitals and long-term facilities like nursing homes. In these settings, they typically care for the most vulnerable patients who need intensive nursing on a daily basis.

•  Patient's Private Residences: Patients may be recently discharged from a hospital and recovering from illness or injury at home. A nurse's responsibilities include helping them with their recovery. In other cases, a patient may have a chronic or long-term condition that needs expert care but doesn't need a hospital facility.
•  Nursing Care Facility: In a nursing care facility or hospital, private nursing cares for patients who have complicated care needs that take many hours daily or per shift.
•  Hospice: Private duty nursing also provides pain management and comfort care to hospice patients. They may perform such duties as administering intravenous infusions, maintaining catheters or a colostomy bag, and oncology care.

Why Become a Private Duty Nurse?
Private duty nursing involves taking care of fewer patients than other forms of nursing, usually in the patient's home rather than a hospital. This means less stress but also greater responsibility, as you won't be able to ask another on-site clinician for a second opinion or advice.

Advantages to Becoming a Private Duty Nurse

• Home settings are often less stressful than hospital settings.
• You have the chance to develop a longer-term relationship with the patient and family.
• You have greater flexibility to determine your hours and shifts.

Disadvantages to Becoming a Private Duty Nurse

• Private nurses usually must travel to patient's homes.
• You have limited resources to respond to emergencies in a patient's home compared to a hospital or nursing facility.
• You have greater responsibility as you are usually the most qualified clinician on-site.

How to Become a Private Duty Nurse
You can become a private nurse with an LPN/LVN license. (Texas and California use the term LVN instead of LPN, but there is no difference between the two.) This takes one year of study at an approved school. However, RNs receive a higher private duty nurse salary, as do most RNs with a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree.

Interested in learning more about becoming a private duty nurse--or using your nursing skills TODAY?
Contact us here at Next Level Nursing Solutions. We'd love to help!

Certified Nurses Day™ is an annual day of recognition for and by healthcare leaders dedicated to nursing professionalism, excellence, recognition, and service. Every March 19, employers, certification boards, education facilities, and healthcare providers celebrate and publicly acknowledge nurses who earn and maintain the highest credentials in their specialty. Certified Nurses Day™ honors nurses worldwide who contribute to better patient outcomes through national board certification in their specialty.
More than 70 organizations participated in the first Certified Nurses Day by signing the proclamation and sponsoring annual events including:

• Accreditation Board for Specialty Nursing Certification (ABSNC)
• National Organization for Competency Assurance
• American Nurses Credentialing Center
• Canadian Nurses Association

Certified Nurses Day is the perfect opportunity to invite all nurses to advance their career by choosing certification.


Certified Nurses Day™ occurs every March 19, the birthday of Dr. Margretta "Gretta" Madden Styles, RN, EdD, FAAN, one of the greatest leaders in the field of nursing certification. She recognized the critical importance of credentialing before broad awareness of its value and her work created global impact on the nursing profession. Dr. Styles architected the first comprehensive study of nurse credentialing in the 1970s. She then pioneered the development and implementation of standards and credentials for nurses.
In the 1980s, she spearheaded the definitive work of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) on nursing regulation. A driving force behind the creation of the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), Dr. Styles advanced nurse certification services and programs across the US and abroad.

Professional certification is a voluntary designation earned by individuals who demonstrate a level of competency, skill, and knowledge in their field. Certification affirms advanced knowledge, skill, and practice to meet the challenges of modern nursing.

We are proud of all the Certified Nurses on our Next Level team!

We are excited and proud to announce the opening of our new Wichita office, at 200 E. 1st North, Suite 415, in the historic Farmers & Bankers Building.

And we're excited to welcome Nicole Mainwaring, our new Administrative Coordinator in the brand-new Wichita office!

Nicole says, “I have always had a drive to help and support people and turned that passion into a career when I joined the healthcare field in 2011. I also enjoy spending time with family, accomplishing DIY projects with my husband, and raising our 4 kids. My husband is active duty Air Force which brought us to McConnell and I’m excited to continue my journey with Next Level!"

Last year, we expanded by opening our Topeka office, located at 3706 SW Topeka Blvd., Suite 400. We are grateful to continue increasing the area we serve.

We are grateful that YOU choose Next Level Nursing Solutions: Healthcare with Heart!


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 Here is some information from the Alzheimer's Prevention Registry about a study that is looking for participants. If this study is not a good fit for you, please consider sharing with friends and family.


Now Enrolling: Building Resilience in Caregivers – Online
UT Dallas’ Center for BrainHealth researchers invite you to participate in Building Resilience in Caregivers . The purpose of this study is to educate caregivers about the importance of taking care of their own brain health and to provide tools on ways to optimize brain function.

This study is part of The BrainHealth Project, a prospective, longitudinal study focused on identifying determinants of brain health. If you are already a participant in the BrainHealth Project, you are not eligible for this study.

Participants start by getting a BrainHealth Index (a set of assessments), then meet virtually with their BrainHealth coach who is knowledgeable about Alzheimer’s. The coach will help translate the strategies to the challenges of caregiving. Progress is stored on a personalized, password-protected dashboard. Participants in this study will have the opportunity to continue with The BrainHealth Project at the end of this 6-month study.

Researchers are looking for people who:

• Are a caregiver of someone with Alzheimer’s or other dementia
• Are interested in being proactive about their brain health
• Speak English
• Have access to the internet
• Have a computer or iPad with video and audio capability (for online coaching sessions)
• Are not already participating in The BrainHealth Project

For a full description of Building Resilience in Caregivers, please click here. 
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