by Chinazo Echezona-Johnson

Created on: April 17, 2008   Last Updated: February 03, 2012

The role of a home health nurse is unique, exciting and sometimes very challenging. With the demand for a safe and quality health care by the consumers, the home health field is the future of health care.

While the role can be very challenging, it offers the professional nurse the opportunity to provide holistic care to their patients. Home health nurses are experienced nurses with diversity of clinical and life skills. These nurses make a significant impact and contribution to the health-care industry, the community, and in the lives of their patients and their families.

Home health nurses have so many roles. Unlike their hospital counterparts, some of these roles are not traditional. These exceptional nurses are not only the health managers and coordinators of care for their patients, but they are also involved in the assessment of their patient's families and their environments. They sometimes have to intervene in the lives of their patients or their environment to offset some adversity. Some of these nurses end up serving as the safety inspector, the family friend, the comforter, the teacher, the safety advocate, the confidante, the protector, etc.

To be a successful home health nurse, the individual must possess varied array of skills. These nurses must be experts in their specialties. They must possess extraordinary clinical skills. These individuals must be well knowledgeable about the different age groups and different disease processes. In addition, they must be tolerant of different cultures, ethnic and religious groups. Also, the nurse must know how to be self sufficient, flexible, assertive and autonomous. The nurse must know how to efficiently acquire and use information and resources. An efficient home care nurse must know how to critically think. Finally, the nurse must learn how to communicate with all age groups, all cultures while utilizing available resources. Home health nurses are usually very adventurous, have excellent interpersonal skills, and eager to learn new things.

The role will continue to expand as long as more health care stakeholders demand decrease in medical expenditures, and expeditious but safe quality health care.

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