Vacation

I'm taking a few week off, my kids & I are visiting my family in Japan. The hubby has to stay home & work. :(
I'll be back to blogging when I get back.

A Little More Work

The assessment agency called me. Long story short, now I'm doing home patient assessments for them. Only one or two a week, but every bit helps. I'm still doing the coagulation check machine training also.

Looking For More Business

I've only gotten a few more patients to train on the home blood coagulation INR monitor. There's a new machine available for home use coming in a month or two. When it is out, then business might pick up a bit. But I did find out where the agency I worked for got some of it's business. There's a company that a number of insurance companies use to farm out their assessments, i..e. a higher level agency. If business doesn't pick up, I'll probably apply to do assessments for them directly.

Good News & Bad News

WOW!! Ok, my boss Linda called me with two new patients for the INR (blood clotting) monitor. A while later she called again & told me she had good news & bad news. The bad news is that the owner of the agency decided to call it quits. The agency I work for is done as of today. No more agency. My boss found out just 15 minutes before I did. I'll throw in another WOW!

Ok... so what's the good news? Linda called the company that makes the INR monitor I've been training a few patients to use. She set it up so that I can work directly for them as an independent contractor. (Linda's a good 'un) They're going to pay me what they were paying the agency. My pay per patient just doubled!! :^) One more WOW! But, now I only have the blood clotting monitor patients. I no longer have the other insurance company patient assessments.

So, double the money per patient, but fewer patients. I'm excited, but I'll have to wait & see how it works out. That's a lot to take in for one morning. My hubby says if business picks up he might quit his job & become a stay-at-home dad. lol. ;^)

Wrong Address & Different Language

I drove to a patient's house. The address was old. I called the patient & drove to her new address. The patient doesn't speak English. Luckily, her daughter is bilingual & lives with her. It would be very difficult to teach INR (blood clotting) machine use, if the patient didn't speak english. lol. Otherwise the visit was great.

Much better day!!

Today went much better. I was trained & certified to teach patients how to use an INR (blood clotting) monitor machine. This machine tests the bleeding time for patients on blood thinners. I visited 3 patients. One needed an INR monitor & training & I did assessments on the other two. They seemed appreciative of me. Nobody was angry. Everything went smoothly. It made up for what happened yesterday. I guess I'll keep working. :^)

Angry Patient

I went to a client’s house today to do an assessment for an insurance company. I told the patient it would take at least an hour. I hadn't done one for this company before. There were 35 pages of questions to answer. The patient & her spouse were getting angrier & angrier. I explained that the insurance company sent the forms & I was doing my best to fill out forms as quickly as possible. I apologized that it was taking so long. They had been making insurance payments for 14 years & didn't like the interrogation. I can't say I blame them. It ended up taking an hour & 45 minutes. They copied down phone numbers for my agency & the insurance co. as well. I felt caught in the middle. I called my supervisor on the way home to let her know what happened & to expect a phone call. I'm not sure this is worth it. I'd like to just quit & stay home. It was a bad day!!!

CPR Class & First Assignment

I finished taking my CPR class. I took it online at aedcpr.com, it was so much easier than taking a regular class and it cost less, and took less time too. I was able to stay at home & take it at my own pace. Very convenient! I was also surprised, the CPR certificate is good for two years instead of one. All my tests, shots, and paperwork are now done. Yay!!

I went on my first assignment, for an insurance company. I needed to assess two patients, a husband and wife, currently living in a private, board and care home for seniors. I needed to ask questions & give tests to evaluate their physical & cognitive ability to perform daily living tasks. The husband was not bad, but the wife was a bit spaced out. She thought the current year was 1920. lol.

Getting Started at New Job

Monday I went to the home care agency to drop off some forms. They gave me my first assignment already! Can you believe it! They sure are in a hurry. They gave me a stethoscope & blood pressure cuffs (mine were old). I also need to buy a new lab coat. My old lab coat is looking shabby.

I found out why they're in such a hurry. Other than the supervisor the owner hired, I'm the first employee! It's a national chain, but this is a new branch.

Today my first assignment fell through due to miscommunication with the patient. :-( They offered me another assignment, but I had a prior commitment that day. It's a new branch of the agency, so it might take a while to build up the clientele.

I Got the Job!! I Think? :-)

On Friday when I arrived at the visiting nurse home care agency for my interview (10 minutes early), the owner and the lady doing the hiring were there. I needed to fill out more forms, many many more forms. Then they started giving me tests! An RN exam, a HIPPA quiz, and a test on blood borne pathogens. I passed them all. That helped boost my self-confidence a bit. :-) Then she gave me more forms to sign, including permission for a background check, a W-4 form, and a direct deposit form. At that point I figured out that I must have been hired! She never really quite said. She was very busy. It was a bit strange. Next, she wanted some of my saliva! I guess that's how they do their drug testing.
As if that weren't enough, I then had to start making a list of more things I needed to do. I need a physical, TB test, CPR class (my CPR certificate has expired), and a Hepatitis B vaccine booster. I hope they start running out of forms, tests & shots soon. lol.

Looking For Work

I've been thinking about going back to work as a registered nurse. I haven't worked for about 9 years, but I've kept my nursing license active. I've stayed home to take care of my young children. Previously I worked in a hospital for over 11 years. I thought it might be easier to get back into nursing if I work as a visiting nurse in home care. I could have flexible hours, and I'd rather not work 8 or 12 hour shifts. I could work while my kids are in school.

I read an article about an RN re-entry internship program in home care near where I live. Perfect! This will give me experience in home care while I brush up my skills. So, my dear hubby helped me update my resume and I contacted the agency. The 16 week training came at a bad time and they said I could take the next one. But when I called back to find out when the next re-training session would be, they said they lost their instructor & it might be a while 'till they have another one. I was disappointed. :-( Meanwhile, I decided to check out an open house with a different home care agency taking place at a Mexican restaurant. Plus they were giving out door prizes. ;-)

They must be really hurting for nurses. I went on Saturday. When I got there, the owner of the home care agency said grab some food. Yay, free food. :-) So I got some taquitos, and started to fill out forms, trying not to drip guacamole on the job application. When the lady doing the hiring came by, we talked about my experience, and about the work at her agency. She said they didn't have a re-training program, but were willing to work with me. It sounded great! She wanted to set up an interview for Friday. Yippy!! I couldn't believe it was so easy. I can hardly wait!!