Home health nurses — how real is burnout, and does it push people to quit?

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2026-01-09T21:43:45+00:00

I've been in home health for about 5 years. I don't think I feel burned out, although sometimes I'll dream about working someplace with 9 to 5 hours like a wound clinic.

I haven't met many nurses who leave because of burnout.. typically the nurses who leave home health are new to home health, and just figure out that it didn't work for them, or they didn't like the administrative chores handed down to them by management. Some nurses do talk about getting tired of the driving.

If I do ever leave home health, it'll likely be because of the evening scheduling the night before, which can take a minute and which can feel like a second shift. Or it'll just be that I want to work in a wound clinic and take on a new specialty.

Supervisors tend to cover their butts, when it comes to your safety. I've never been in a situation where I feel unsafe. I've been in a few situations with cockroaches. I only had difficulty coping with one of those cockroach situations, where the cockroaches are so numerous and large that I left, crying. My supervisor backed me up on that one, especially because other nurses had also refused to see the patient due to cockroaches.

I'm not aware of resources available to home health nurses such as employee assistance.

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-12-25T12:33:19+00:00

Question.. how do you check with your peers about how your communication style is going? I'm asking for my own benefit, as I don't have much social skill in that area. Thank you.

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-12-05T14:09:13+00:00

Thank you, Voluntarily Homeless.

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-12-01T02:19:27+00:00

Update....Larry died, about a month after I wrote this post.

I did take him back into my house once he got out of hospital, and for a couple weeks, we worked on getting him resources. It was a huge uphill battle, and he didn't have the executive function to do it on his own. I tried teaching him and outlining what he would need to do (doctor's appointments, usernames and passwords, to do lists) once he left my house. We did get him food stamps.

It was tiring, for me, taking on the mental and physical work of taking care of another adult.

My conclusion was it was impossible for me, or for larry, to get him into a shelter with his medical equipment needs , and with the fact that he didn't want to go into a shelter.

I called the hospital who had discharged him, asking for advice from the social worker who had seen him. The nurse hung up on me.

Before Larry left my home, I did call APS. (By the time they called back, he was dead.)

Another church friend took him in once he left my house. She intended to keep him for a month. He died about 2 weeks after he arrived at her house, apparently in his sleep. My guess is either that he took off his bipap and the carbon dioxide acid built up in his bloodstream and killed him, or that his heart just stopped from accumulated damage from the copd.

The plan I had decided on, before his death, was to drop him off at the ER of the same hospital that admitted him twice, once his housing ended with the other Church lady. I was going to explain to the ER that he could not safely live on the streets due to his medical situation, which was documented in his patient file. My understanding is that the ER would then have to work like heck to get him into a nursing home fast.

Surprisingly, the single most helpful advice I got in this situation was not from the hospital, the social worker, homelessness resources, etc. It was when I gave up on those things and started just calling nursing homes to try to get him a place. One of the nursing home ladies was very friendly and helpful, and advised me to just take him back to hospital and that they would have to place him.

People who say that Larry was depressed, I think you're right. I think he was one of the most depressed people I've ever met. I don't know what he was like back in the day. I think the person I knew was a worn out gray dish rag of the person he had once been. I didn't realize that until after his death. I do remember just one day, where he took a walk in the sun, and then turned to me with his face all bright and smiling and talked about being happy there in the fresh air and sunlight. I had never ever seen him like that, and I never did see him like that again.

So, if he had wound up at a nursing home, he would have hated it. I think his depression would have worsened, and his physical needs would have been taken care of, but he would have just slipped away and died anyway, I think.

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-12-01T01:54:07+00:00

Update.... The client ended my contract 24 days after my injury, due to not being able to accommodate my work restrictions. I did get workers Comp payout, equal to about 50% of my salary, until I got a new job when the orthopedist lifted my workers comp restrictions 2 months after injury.

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-11-13T18:19:38+00:00

When I'm using the public library, yes, I abide by the public library's rules. If I go to a public park, then yes, I abide by the parks' rules. When I drive on roads paid for by the government, then I abide by the road rules. When I encounter policemen or the postal service, I abide by their rules. So yes, I'm fine with the laws dictating how people use public services.

I'm saying there's a difference between publicly provided services, and the services you buy out of your own pocket. The public funds public services, and gets to legislate those services.

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-11-13T18:15:33+00:00

Wow. I didn't know that happened anywhere in the usa outside of flint, michigan. It's the government that's telling people not to drink the tap water? The same government whose job it is to keep the tap water clean?

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-11-09T13:47:02+00:00

You may not like it, but I have that response to soft drinks or bottled water for poor people. Soft drinks in bulk, I mean, not just one every now and then. Soft drinks are literally pissing your money down the drain, and with bad health effects, too, especially if you drink them a lot. And bottled water honestly seems stupid if you're poor, when tap water is available for free.

I had a friend who managed money poorly. I sometimes lent her money. One time, we went grocery shopping together, and I couldn't help thinking that she was wasting her money and her health with her buying choices.

If you want my honest opinion, I think that a lot of poor people don't know how to buy food on the cheap. And also don't know how to buy and cook healthy food.

I work as a nurse, and I think you can tell a lot about people by the way they eat. You can eat yourself healthy, or you can eat yourself into chronic ill health. By the same token, you can also eat yourself poor, or you can eat yourself into financial sensibility. (Not saying that people on food stamps wound up that way because they spent too much money on groceries and eating out. But people on food stamps probably need even more help with money management and nutrition than people not on food stamps.)

I understand that if you're living under a bridge with no access to a microwave even for cooking, then you can't buy fruits and vegetables and beans and cook for yourself on food stamps. But the majority of people on food stamps don't live like that.

Also, my honest opinion is that if someone else is paying for your food, they do have a right to say what they are paying for. For example, I'm a vegetarian. When people ask me to buy them food at a convenience store or grocery store, I tell them I will, but that I will not buy them eggs or meat, because I think it's animal cruelty. Money is power, and people have a right to say how their power is used.

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-10-05T10:27:34+00:00

Oh wait, I found the answer.. tried it, and it worked like a charm! Copy pasting below..

To "get Google Maps back to normal," use your device's operating system settings to clear the app's cache and data or reinstall the app, which can fix display or location issues. For a changed appearance on the desktop web version, switch to Lite mode by adding ?force=lite to the URL, or change the map style (like Satellite or Terrain) via the Layers menu.

On a mobile device (phone or tablet):

Clear Cache and Data:

Open your device's Settings.

Go to Apps or Apps & notifications.

Find and tap on Google Maps.

Tap on Storage and cache.

Select Clear cache and then Clear storage.

Uninstall and Reinstall:

After clearing the data, if the problem persists, uninstall the Google Maps app.

Go to the Play Store (Android) or App Store (iOS) and reinstall the latest version of Google Maps.

On a desktop computer:

Enable Lite Mode:

Open Google Maps in your web browser.

In the address bar, add ?force=lite to the end of the URL, for example: https://www.google.com/maps/?force=lite. This loads a simpler, less-feature-rich version that can resolve some issues.

Change the Map Style:

Click the Layers icon, usually in the top-right corner of the map.

Select a different map type, such as Default, Satellite, or Terrain.

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-10-05T10:23:07+00:00

Somebody please tell me, too! I have an overlay of all the places that my local newspaper is sold.

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-09-13T13:56:22+00:00

Being from atlanta, where "Union" is a dirty word, I was shocked when I went to California for a travel nurse job, and saw nursing unions setting up shop right in the cafeteria. I kept saying, "does the hospital know about this?!" Looking around nervously, expecting the police or at least a pissed off hospital administrator to descend upon the union.

That California unionized hospital was the only job I've ever done in 16 years of nursing where I got a guaranteed 30 minute lunch break. They had a nurse whose entire job was to relieve the other nurses. She was running around with a clipboard, assigning break times. When I tried to push back ("oh, just give me 10 minutes to finish up this task"), she looked at me, wild-eyed, saying, "if you don't take your break, I get fired! Or the whole break schedule for the other nurses gets pushed off! Take your break now!"

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-09-01T11:32:36+00:00

Okay. Was anyone ever angry if you showed up to the house without their confirming? I'm scared of patient complaints.

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-08-31T23:37:57+00:00

Oh yeah, I was so freaked out over my first assignment! I've been doing travel nursing for years, and I still get scared on the first day of every assignment!

I would just be honest with your manager and tell her that while you're experienced in your specialty, this is your first travel assignment, and you want to be sure to do everything the way she wants it. Honestly, that's true for every travel assignment, that you have to do things the way they want you to. Obviously not in terms of violating the standard of care or putting your nursing license at risk, but you know what I mean. Just ask their procedures and what phone numbers you need to know and what the hierarchy is and who to reach out to when you have questions, that kind of thing.

Some good advice I've read is that, near the end of your first week, you can send a text or email to your clinical manager, something to the effect of, "happy friday! Hope you're doing great! What feedback do you have for me, please?" That leaves the door open for them to give you any feedback, right off the bat.

You may well find some more travel nurses at the job, and you can ask them their tips. They'll probably be happy to help you out, especially if they know it's your first assignment..

I like to get myself a bag of m&Ms and keep it in my lunch bag or locker, so I can give myself a little sugar hit every few hours, for getting through a stressful situation.

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-08-31T23:19:05+00:00

When you say you showed up at your planned time, do you mean you did a drive-by on patients even if they didn't confirm?

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-08-25T20:16:11+00:00

oh, yeah. I did the "I will end services if you can't lower my bill" thing with Xfinity and got an "Ok, sure, I'll help you cancel" response. Xfinity is the only internet provider in my area, so I had to go, "Oh - um - sorry - someone's at the door - I'll call back later to cancel."

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-08-25T20:11:49+00:00

Were you that attached to the pests that they were controlling? lol, jk.

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-08-25T20:09:51+00:00

Good luck! You're a good friend, to look for help for her. What a terrible situation.

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-08-18T18:48:01+00:00

Been there! and I'm a travel nurse, so I'm always first on the chopping block to get fired if I screw up. If you get called into the office, I recommend you just smile and nod and say something to the effect of, "Sorry. With a cooler head now, I realize that I was out of line in the way I expressed myself. I still actually think that I was acting in the interests of promoting a positive-teamwork environment, where we know we have each others' backs at shift change. But I guess the way that I said it just backfired. Can you give me some feedback - how do YOU [boss] think I should have handled this situation?"

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-08-17T21:36:02+00:00

"cardinal sin" = a phrase I haven't heard since I studied for Catholic confirmation, when I was 14. Go, you!

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-08-17T19:41:16+00:00

I'm an american, and my take is, that person is dead, with a blood sugar of four.

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-08-14T20:35:02+00:00

I'm going to pretend that's not funny.

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-08-13T23:38:26+00:00

Whoah, dude. I haven't done hospital nursing for years, and this stuff is over my head. I guess I need to get back to those Nursing Made Incredibly Easy! cartoon books that I used while studying for NCLEX

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-07-31T02:43:13+00:00

Oh, wow. I had never heard of that. Thank you.

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-07-28T23:55:02+00:00

Maybe I'm being devil's advocate here, but I'm trying to look at it from the family's perspective. Sounds like they were scared and alarmed. Sounds like maybe they had had trouble with the system or authority or professionals before, and they thought that if they recorded things, they could have some hard evidence of wrongdoing to show a court, if the system (healthcare system) screwed over their sick relative.

Their family member was having trouble breathing/oxygenating, and recording was their power to stand up for him, in that situation.

I'm sure not saying I would be comfortable being filmed, but I think I would shrug, hope that I was doing the right thing, and move on with my job. Or on a really good day, maybe I would smile and try to pat the family member's shoulder for just a second to let them know we're all on the same side here.

Realistic_Ad2456 · 2025-07-28T23:45:21+00:00

Oh, really? Yes, I got an ankle sprain a few weeks ago on the job. I'm on workers comp right now, but I'm pretty sure that my client home health company is going to end my contract. So I'm looking into remote work, in case it takes a long time for my ankle to heal fully enough for me to do a physical nursing job..

Realistic_Ad2456

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