As the aging population increases and healthcare budgets stretch tighter, the demand for home care services is growing stronger. Efficient, productive, and affordable home care is an appealing option for patients who prefer receiving the necessary care in the comfort of their homes. It also offers excellent career opportunities to people with the right professional skills and personal qualities.
While a career in home care might seem challenging at first, it may be one of the most rewarding and satisfying careers you are likely to have. Here are a few reasons why you should consider a career as a home care nurse or caregiver.
1. Acquire Diverse Healthcare Experience
As a home care nurse or caregiver, you will get the opportunity to work across various care settings, including daycare centers, nursing homes, or hospitals. You can try out diverse care settings to find what suits you best before committing to a single one for the long term. You will also care for a wide range of patients from different backgrounds and ages.
Working as a home care nurse or live-in caregiver will offer you more rewarding and exciting opportunities than in traditional healthcare settings.
2. Competitive Salary
Home care nurses stand to enjoy competitive numeration rates. According to Glassdoor, advanced home care salary ranges between $40,864 for a patient account representative and $78,418 per year for a registered nurse.
You can dramatically increase the value of your job market and salary by enrolling in any of these online adult-gerontology MSN programs. You will also get attractive incentives if you take up duties on public holidays, night shifts, or more challenging duties due to further location or job scope.
3. A Flexible and Customized Career
As a hospital, clinic or other healthcare facility nurse, you really don’t have a say in the schedule you get. There are no flexible working hours, and you will generally be handling over 20 patients at a time. However, you can have flexible schedules and hours when working in home care, helping a needy elderly.
There is also no downtime when working in home care. Instead of hurrying to ensure the best care for over 20 patients, you can only worry about one senior. You also have the option to transition to work part-time on a registered schedule or full-time work arrangements if you are looking for a more permanent position.
4. High demand for nurses and caregivers
As people age and societal attitudes change and normalize in favor of home care than healthcare, nurses and caregivers will find themselves more in demand than ever.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment opportunities of registered nurses are expected to grow by 6% by 2031. Home care nurses and caregivers can expect to enjoy a steady flow of employment opportunities and duties, whether working as freelancers, on a part-time basis, or as a full-time employee.
5. Less Administrative Work
Healthcare workers in a conventional hospital or hospice might be required to handle administrative work or other tasks that don’t fall under the scope of healthcare and nursing. Due to the alternating shifts, creating detailed and thorough patient records is also vital since the employee taking over your shift will know what to do on their schedule.
While it’s impossible to run away from administrative work, particularly in big companies, being a home care nurse allows you to focus mostly on the meaningful and fulfilling work of caring for others. You will not have to worry about other tasks that may take more time from your primary role.
6. Social Connections and Well-Being
Home care nurses and caregivers have a great opportunity to connect with their patients on an individual level. Elderly people receiving care in the comfort of their homes are also usually more friendly and relaxed. They are often more willing to share their life experiences and stories, so home care nurses can see more perspectives than other healthcare professionals.
People who feel connected with others are less prone to anxiety and depression and have improved overall physical health. Social connections have also been linked with fewer incidences of diseases and faster disease recovery.
However, a low sense of social connection may lead to low self-esteem or psychological distress. As such, the connection provided by a home care nurse can be crucial for the senior’s well-being.
7. A Great Opportunity for Personal Growth and Development
Nurses or caregivers in a private home must act efficiently and independently to fulfill their care recipients’ needs. This allows one to practice problem-solving and creativity skills while training to be mentally fit and independent. These skills are vital in any workplace and can certainly be helpful in future interviews.
The skills you acquire as a home care nurse or caregiver are highly transferable across many different settings. For instance, learning to be understanding and patient with hard-to-care-for clients can be a valuable experience for practicing your client-serving skills and empathy.
This may put you in a great position to undertake future professional experiences in industries that have roles with client-facing demands. It can also help you improve your communication skills as you deal with desperate care recipients with different communication requirements.
8. Independence
Home care nurses work mainly on their own without anyone looking over their shoulder. They can make many choices independently and have the autonomy to do what they believe is right for their care recipients.
Nurses and caregivers take control of situations when working in a home care setting and make choices with fewer or no discussions with other healthcare providers. This may inspire them to think creatively and critically since they work to offer the services their patients require.
9. A Meaningful and Impactful Job
Working as a home caregiver allows you to create visible and tangible impacts on the lives of others. Home care nurses can see the significance of their work on the lives of the people they care for and their families from working with people who need care in their homes and helping them achieve the best of their lives.
With caregiver burnout becoming more common and problematic, you can also reduce the burden on your care recipients’ families and help them lead better lives.
Endnote
Working as a home care nurse or caregiver is a rewarding lifestyle and career. However, nursing and caregiving require patience, humility, and readiness to endure challenging situations to help care beneficiaries live dignified and worthy lives.
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