BECOMING A PRIVATE DUTY NURSE

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!

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