Home Sweet Home…Health

Home Sweet Home Health

For years the home health therapist has been getting a bad wrap.  Working solo much of the time a clinician can go about their day largely unseen. Subsequently there is little perceived oversight, presumably leading to complacency and poor clinical decision making.  The image of a home health therapist that I, and many others, had (have) is that of someone doing as little as possible to get by with minimal regard for their own professional reputation, letting clinical skill and systematic evaluative thinking fall by the wayside.

This is no longer the case!

Increasingly young motivated clinicians are migrating to the home health realm due to three unique characteristics of the setting that all have a common thread among them: Freedom.

Freedom of Time

Largely the #1 reason why clinicians initially decide to test the sweet waters of home healthcare, time is the most valuable non-renewable resource.  As a physical therapist, or occupational therapist or speech therapist or nurse, few settings can provide you with the same flexibility to build your own schedule as home health does.  Most companies let the individual clinicians make and manage their day-to-day schedules as they see fit.  This means that if little Johnny Snot-Nose needs to go to the pediatrician for the 8th time this school year, with a few quick phone calls you can bump patients around so that you can pick Johnny boy up from school and make the appointment on time.  Or say there is a key World Cup Soccer match on right in the middle of your day.  A quick shuffle of the calendar and your ready to cheer on Team USA, face paint and all (this may or may not be from personal experience).

Not only is it easy to juggle patient visits, but given the facts that; A. most companies require only 5-6 patient visits a day to be considered full time. And B. the majority of clients are just as unmotivated in the morning as we are and do not want to be seen until mid-morning at the earliest – the home health work day is commonly 10-4 pm.  Currently my wife and I get to walk our pups on the beach each morning and even slip in a workout before skipping out the door to work.

Those are the lifestyle benefits to home health, but one of the biggest up-sides of practicing as a home health clinician is the ability to take as much time as you need with each client.  No double bookings, back-to-backs only happen if you want them to, and the absence of timed codes create the ideal work environment for both you and your patient.  Finally you have full control of the time necessary to give your patients the best that your skills have to offer.

No double bookings, back-to-backs only happen if you want them to, and the absence of timed codes create the ideal work environment for both you and your patient.

Freedom of Focus

Freedom of focus and freedom of time run hand in hand in my life.  When the world around me is a hectic mess it seems my mental clarity falls right into the twisting torrent as well.  Yes, patient treatment comes with its own hailstorm of challenges and catastrophes, but after each session you get a respite, albeit often a brief one, but a respite nonetheless, in the form of drive time.

Drive time is the often undervalued and demonized benefit of home health physical therapy.  It provides you sanctuary with which you can do as you like.  A precious peaceful quiet, a violent head-banging mini-mosh in the drivers seat, or a quick and desperate Google search of whatever the heck that thing was growing on your patients backside are all potential options.

Drive time is the often undervalued and demonized benefit of home health physical therapy.

Personally, I opt for “Automobile University” as Dustin Jones of The Senior Rehab Project calls it. Podcasts and Audiobooks have become an immensely valuable part of my every day work life.  Whether it is therapy, business, writing, or travel related, there are podcasts and audiobooks galore!  Plus, most podcast players allow you to play at 1.5-2x normal speed.  Sounds intimidating but your ear picks up the info and after 5-10min you hardly notice that it is any faster than normal speech.

Let the bingeing begin!

Freedom of Specialization

Another misconception regarding home health care is that we only treat dehydrated little old ladies who recently fell and couldn’t get up.  This could not be further from the truth!  As a home health clinician we treat patients with just about every condition possible.  From the mundane to the extravagant, if they cannot safely leave their home for care, that care is in our hands.  I have seen my fair share of deconditioned old folks, but I have also had the privilege to work with one of only five people ever to survive into adulthood with a rare genetic condition.

From the mundane to the extravagant, if they cannot safely leave their home for care, that care is in our hands.

Neuro, ortho, wound care, geriatrics, Parkinson’s Disease, cancer care, and hospice care are just a few of the specializations that are available to clinicians should they pursue further credentialing.  Personally I utilize my clinical specialization in Orthopedics daily.  Not just because I have a heavy patient load of ortho, but because the same principles I learned in acquiring my credential apply to nearly all of the clients I treat.  Pain science, motor learning, and tissue healing techniques are ubiquitous throughout our clientele and essential components to providing quality care.

Freedom!

The Work-Life balance is most assuredly one of the keys to a long and adventure filled existence.  No other setting provides for as much customization of both career and lifestyle.  A once looked down upon practice setting is quickly becoming a highly desired, well paying niche for clinicians who have tired of the rat race and are excited to take their freedom back!

Written by Dr. Stephen Stockhausen PT, OCS

 

Call for comments: Let us know why you love home health – OR – shoot us any questions you may have about this exciting and growing field!