[NurseDeeb]

Hi, I'm new to this forum. I'm an experienced oncology certified nurse interested in getting into a telephone triage or advice nurse position. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. I was hoping someone could give me suggestions on where to look. Thanks!!

NurseDeeb

[SHERCAT]

Are you willing to relocate to Atlanta, Ga.? We are a large corporate HMO and we are always hiring but not because of turnover but because we are getting increasingly more and more calls.

[Veteran RN]

NurseDeeb: This might be repeat information you've already received, but Kaiser Permanente has Advice and Appointment Call Centers located in San Jose, Vallejo, and Sacramento. There is a 4-week paid training program and shifts are very flexible with full healthcare benefits paid for anyone working 20 hours a week or more. The pay is excellent and highly competitive with any other nursing position in the area. I've been with the Sacramento Call Center for nearly four years and enjoying the job and my co-workers. Good luck!

[kitcat]

I just registered with allnurses.com...first time seeing this forum website after searching google for advice nurse topic in general. Glad I found this place of discussion. I wanted to reply to your question about where to find jobs for advice nursing. One of my coworkers beat me to it while registering!
Kaiser does have a comprehensive advice nurse call center environment. We answer for adult med, pediatrics and OB calls. We are placed in these respective queues based on our background and the needs of the facility (how long the wait is for each area on a given day). Kaiser has 3 call centers currently. I'm in Sacramento. There is one in Vallejo and one in Santa Theresa/San Jose area. Sacramento facility answers for SSF and SFO callers.
Sac area also has a couple other advice nurse companies, their names escape me right now, but I'll ask around and respond, if your interested.
Bring on the questions.

[SHERCAT]

Atlanta has a Kaiser nurse advice line as well.

[SnowymtnRN]

I wish i could do something like this. i think it would be easier for my family, etc..what type of experience is usually required for a telephone triage nurse? Do they work in the main offices/hospitals or at home?

[LoveTeleNursing]

You will need solid experience in hands on nursing; it sounds like you have that down. Oncology nursing is certainly a challenging arena of nursing, physically and emotionally for all involved.

You will need a strong sense of self-worth and confidence in your skills and ambition to do a job independently.

Most telephone triage experts will advise a nurse to have at least 2-3 years in acute care (critical care or emergency nursing or acute med/surg), or 5-7 years in other nursing avenues, that provide the nurse with a solid base for doing telephone advice, which requires a vast knowledge base, and competency to perform independently. However, these are recommendations, and vary from place to place.

You will need a pleasant phone voice, calm demeanor and have excellent verbal communication. You may need to document calls on a computer, so experience in keyboarding is helpful, with ability to type at least 25 words per minute preferred.

One can find a telephone triage (or telephone advice) job in clinics, ambulatory/immediate care facilities, home health & hospice facilities or companies, managed care/HMO facilities, and some hospital or private sector companies.

Expect to either be in an environment where you take calls for a specific population, such as oncology, or taking calls for a wide spectrum, including adult/pediatrics/ob or gyn.

You can look for positions by looking up telephone triage online search, or looking for ambulatory care units/clinics/hospitals in your area, and looking up information or web sites for local HMO/Managed care facilities in your area.

If you do not find a position by just browsing, go ahead and send a resume with a cover letter presenting your expertise and experience, and letting the company know that you are interested pursuing a position in patient education or telephone triage services.

Other possible positions you might particularly enjoy would be home health case management, or quality improvement services in continuing care spectors (HH, Hopsice, Infusion home services, Ancillary rehab therapy).

I hope this helps you get started. Best wishes in pursuing a positive career change.

Below are several web sites about or related to telephone triage.
It should jump start your research:

Telephone Triage Web sites:

http://www.rnceus.com/triage/triageframe.html

http://community.nursingspectrum.com...e.cfm?AID=6873

http://www.conway.lsuhsc.edu/library...ng/telemed.htm

http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hw/telemed/orgs.html

http://www.ana.org/readroom/tele2.htm

http://www.rn.ca.gov/policies/pdf/npr-b-35.pdf

http://www.carolstock.com/

http://seminars.pesihealthcare.com/seminfo/rutenberg/

http://www.mxdmedia.com/ez/medical/med100.htm

http://www.teletriage.com/about_tt/

I hope this helps you get started. Best wishes in pursuing a positive career change.


Sincerely,

LoveTeleNursing

[SnowymtnRN]

Thanks so much for the direction! Sounds interesting, at least to check out!!

[Funny girl]

In the SF Bay Area the largest employers of telephone/advice Triage nurses are Kaiser, Palo Alto Medical Foundation and Children's Hospital in Oakland.

[VIRTUALRN]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first time posting. I developed a virtual telephone triage back up position while working for a hospital triage several years ago. After leaving the role of the director I am now missing the pediatric triage. Are you aware of other organizations that hire virtual nurses?

I look forward to your answers.

All the best, VirtualRN