What Is a Home Health RN and How to Become One

By ZipRecruiter Marketplace Research Team

The job duties of a home health RN involve providing care for a patient in their house. You often work with elderly patients, people with illnesses or chronic conditions, and those recovering from surgery. As a home health RN, your duties include taking the patient’s vital signs, ensuring they manage their medication and treatments correctly, and making a general assessment of their condition. Your responsibilities can include connecting IVs, giving shots, and cleaning and examining wounds. You coordinate with a physician or other staff members to ensure that you follow the plan of care and meet each patient's healthcare needs.

The qualifications that you need to become a home health RN include a nursing degree, an RN license, and the skills to work independently. Employers expect home health nursing applicants to have a driver’s license so that they can drive to clients’ homes. You can become a registered nurse by earning an associate or bachelor’s degree in nursing and passing the NCLEX-RN exam. Home health certification was available through the American Nurses Credentialing Center, but they are no longer offering new certificates. Because you work independently, most employers expect you to have previous experience in nursing.