Working as a Munson Healthcare Home Care nurse brings opportunities to develop real relationships with patients.
Nancy Stoessel, BSN, SMSRN, GRN, served as a patient care coordinator on a Munson Medical Center nursing unit before moving outside the hospital walls six years ago to care for patients in their homes. She enjoys getting to know them and witness transformation in their lives.
“There are so many rewards to being a home health nurse. When I was working in the hospital, I would provide education to my patients and then I may not see them again,” she said. “In home health, I’m going to see them numerous times and I’m going to be able to make sure they understand what I have taught them. I can see it implemented into their daily life and then I am able to watch my interventions at work and modify them based upon the patient situation. I also am able to build trust, and that is important if you want a patient to change their lifestyle.”
A Desire to Help Others
As a young woman, Nancy shares that her father was injured and required ongoing medical care. Helping her father stirred her desire for helping others. And as she looked at the nursing profession, she understood it would be the best way to achieve her goals.
Working as a home care nurse means each day brings something different and new.
“Usually, we see five to six patients depending on their acuity and what the patient needs in terms of our services,” she said. “As a home health nurse, I believe I use my knowledge and skills more in this setting. I am changing central line dressings, doing complicated wound care, pulling PICC lines, setting up home medical boxes, providing TPN or intravenous nutrition, lab draws, and offering a whole lot of education and support.”
A graduate of Northwestern Michigan College’s registered nursing program, Nancy was working on her University of Michigan four-year nursing degree when she first tried the home health nurse role.
“I needed to do a community-based shadow project and I chose Munson Home Health since I already worked for Munson,” she said. “I was paired with a wonderful nurse who showed me what Home Health really was. I absolutely loved the fact that as a nurse we were able to go into a home and make a connection with our patients. It was totally different than working a nursing floor – and the flexibility was amazing.”
Rewarding and Challenging
Meeting clients in their homes across northern Michigan can be rewarding – and challenging at the same time. Nancy points out that the nurse works mostly alone and there are not the kind of nursing resources one would find in the hospital. However, her nursing supervisor does provide support if needed. Navigating to a patient’s home in the winter can become a challenge as well.
Would she recommend Munson Healthcare Home Care to others if they needed care at home?
“Absolutely, and I have! Our team is one of a kind. I work with some of the most amazing, talented, caring, smart people out there,” she said. “There is a huge focus on safety and compassion, and we pride ourselves on privacy and professionalism.”
Nurses interested in exploring opportunities at Munson Home Health should investigate further, she said.
'A Great Work Environment'
“Munson Home Health provides a great work environment. We have supervisors and managers that care about us as individuals,” she said. “There is always the option for additional education – it is encouraged. We also have amazing coworkers who are willing and able to assist. I still have other nurses who I trained calling me from time-to-time.”
Her day gives her the freedom to set the schedule. “You are given a list of patients to see, and you are able to decide when to see them and in what order,” she said.
Her patients are another reason she enjoys her nursing niche.
“I have made lasting connections, because I meet some of the most amazing people,” she said.
Learn more about Munson Healthcare Home Care by going to munsonhealthcare.org/home-health/home-care.