How To Become A Private Duty Nurse: What It Is and Career Path

What is a private duty nurse and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Alicia Cardona

Patients, their friends, and families may find hospitalization too stressful. Private duty nurses are of great value to people who prefer to recover at home instead of hospitals. You are paid $25.83 for taking care of patients at home for one hour. In contrast to fixed working hours, they look after patients in various day and night shifts of four to twelve hours every day.

As a private duty nurse, you are responsible for evaluating and assessing patients. You offer them the services described in the plan of care. You are bound to maintain their health and enhance the quality of their lives. You also advocate for their requirements with ancillary providers such as physicians, therapists, etc. You also motivate family members to help and support their overall well being.

Consider pursuing a career in private duty nursing, as you will get 12% more job opportunities till 2028. Numerous private rehab facilities and government hospitals hire passionate candidates with a bachelor's or associate degree in nursing.

What general advice would you give to a Private Duty Nurse?

Alicia Cardona

Nursing instructor, Morton College

For nurses beginning their careers, take every opportunity to learn everything you can. There is so much to do in nursing; you never know what you will find that you are good at or that you will enjoy. There are good days and bad days in nursing. Enjoy the good, and realize the bad is only temporary. Be flexible and take care of yourself. Nursing is demanding, so take care of yourself, so you do not burnout.

ScorePrivate Duty NurseUS Average

Salary

4.3

Avg. Salary $55,518

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

10.0

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.44%

Asian 8.92%

Black or African American 11.81%

Hispanic or Latino 8.83%

Unknown 4.25%

White 65.75%

Gender

female 90.42%

male 9.58%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress Level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.1

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

7.8

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a private duty nurse

Explore private duty nurse education requirements

Most common private duty nurse degrees

Associate

36.3 %

Bachelor's

35.6 %

Diploma

12.7 %

Start to develop specific private duty nurse skills

Skills	Percentages
Home Health	34.09%
Patients	30.57%
Medication Administration	3.44%
Hospice Care	2.77%
Vital Signs	2.70%

Complete relevant private duty nurse training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New private duty nurses learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a private duty nurse based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real private duty nurse resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed private duty nurse usually require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed private duty nurse in most of states. 43 states require private duty nurses to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License Url
Alabama	Degree required	State exam required	Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
Alaska	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Nurse, Licensed Practical
Arkansas	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
California	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Licensed Vocational Nurse
Colorado	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Licensed Practical Nurse

Gain additional private duty nurse certifications

Private duty nurse certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific private duty nurse certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for private duty nurses include Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) and Medical Assistant.

More About Certifications

Research private duty nurse duties and responsibilities

Manage Ventriculostomies and interpret ICP and CVP readings.
Manage patient care monitoring vital signs, performing physical assessment, checking patients medications for effectiveness.
Communicate with medicaid, and insurance companies to ensure patients receive appropriate care and payment of procedures and medication.
Provide daily assessments, ADL's medication management and any necessary medical treatments.

Prepare your private duty nurse resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your private duty nurse resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a private duty nurse resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Private Duty Nurse Resume templates

Build a professional Private Duty Nurse resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Private Duty Nurse resume.