Home health RN jobs: licensing, duties and how to start

A home health registered nurse (RN) goes to patients' homes to assess their condition, provide skilled nursing care and teach patients and families. RNs must be licensed in the state where they work. The federal home health rules also give RNs a supervisory role over home health aides.

BLS does not publish a separate occupation for home health RNs. It profiles registered nurses as one group and says home health nurses travel to patients' homes.

What a home health RN does

BLS says registered nurses provide and coordinate patient care and educate patients and the public about health conditions. Typical duties include assessing patients, administering medicines and treatments, and explaining home care after treatment.

Medicare.gov describes what Medicare-covered home health services include: medically necessary part-time or intermittent skilled nursing care, such as wound care and injections, along with therapy, medical social services and, when skilled care or therapy is also needed, home health aide care. To get these services, a patient must be homebound, according to Medicare.gov.

Under 42 CFR 484.115, a registered nurse for a Medicare-certified home health agency is a graduate of an approved school of professional nursing who is licensed in the state where practicing.

Supervising home health aides

The federal rule for home health aides, 42 CFR 484.80, gives RNs a set of duties:

• Practical training for aides happens under the direct supervision of a registered nurse, and a licensed practical nurse may supervise if working under an RN.
• For patients receiving skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy or speech-language pathology, a supervisory assessment must happen no less frequently than every 14 days, and the aide does not have to be present.
• For patients not receiving those skilled services, an onsite RN visit is required every 60 days.
• In-service training of at least 12 hours in each 12-month period is supervised by an RN.

See home health aide for the aide side of this.

Where RNs work

BLS lists the largest employers of registered nurses:

Employer type	Share of RN jobs
Hospitals	59%
Ambulatory healthcare services	19%
Nursing and residential care facilities	6%
Government	5%
Educational services	3%

BLS does not break out home health in that list. It does say nurses who work in home health travel to patients' homes, and that RNs will likely continue to be in demand in home healthcare settings. Home health agencies employ RNs in the field, and some RNs work for hospices, which are covered at hospice providers.

Training and licensing

BLS says RNs usually take one of three education paths: a bachelor's degree in nursing, an associate's degree in nursing, or a diploma from an approved nursing program. BLS gives program lengths on its page; check them there before you plan.

RNs must be licensed. They need a license from the state where they work, which requires graduating from an approved program and passing a qualifying exam. BLS says state requirements vary, and state boards of nursing set the specifics.

States add their own rules. Carevo does not summarize licensing rules for individual states. Contact your state board of nursing and ask each home health agency what it requires.

Home health RN pay

BLS publishes a national wage estimate for registered nurses (SOC 29-1141) from its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, with a May 2025 reference period. Carevo does not type the figure here so it cannot go out of date. See the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook page for the current median. The figure covers RNs in all settings, not only home health. It is national, so pay in your state and with your employer can be higher or lower.

How to find home health RN jobs

Home health agencies and hospices hire RNs. Browse home health agencies, hospice providers and private duty nursing providers in your state, then contact the ones near you. Ask whether the agency is Medicare-certified, whether you would be paid by the visit or by the hour, and how many aides you would supervise. For the related roles, see LPN and private duty nurse.

Carevo is a connection platform. It is not an employer and it does not place workers.

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