Nurses Versus Therapists: The Job Satisfaction Scorecard in Home Health

Abstract

Background:

Home health care plays a vital role in post-acute recovery and chronic disease management in the United States, yet clinician retention remains a critical challenge. Nurses and rehabilitation clinicians, including physical therapists (PT), occupational therapists (OT), and speech-language pathologists (SLP) form the foundation of interdisciplinary home health teams. Despite their interdependence, little is known about discipline-specific satisfaction trends within home-based practice.

Purpose:

This study examined and compared job satisfaction among nursing and rehabilitation clinicians working in home health across 5 domains: scheduling, travel, work environment, documentation, and overall job satisfaction.

Methods:

An online survey was distributed through national professional organizations and social media platforms between March 11 and April 15, 2025. A total of 372 responses were analyzed, including 71 from nursing and 301 from rehabilitation clinicians. Descriptive statistics from Likert-scale ratings along with Mann-Whitney U test were used to identify discipline-specific differences.

Results:

A statistically significant difference was observed in the work environment category (P = .007), with rehabilitation clinicians reporting higher satisfaction compared to nursing with this aspect of home health. Scheduling (P = .299), travel (P = .666), documentation (P = .850), and overall job satisfaction (P = .524) did not significantly differ between groups. Documentation was the lowest-rated domain for both disciplines, with only one-third of clinicians expressing satisfaction.

Conclusion:

The work environment appears to be a key differentiator of satisfaction between nursing and rehabilitation clinicians in home health, with nurses reporting significantly lower satisfaction in this domain. Widespread dissatisfaction with documentation highlights a critical need for system-level reforms. Tailoring workforce support strategies to discipline-specific needs, particularly addressing environmental stressors for nurses and documentation burden for all clinicians, may enhance retention, team cohesion, and quality of care.