RN in a doctors office??

realredhead79 · Feb 4, 2010

RADIATIONNURSE2B,

I don't usually let things bother me, but am I reading that you called the other nurses " desk nurses"?

I just don't understand that. I am in a internists office...we do alot of procedures, and I do ALOT of triage. I've been a nurse since 1999, and I've worked in several different areas.....this job has been the hardest.

Are you implying that they do not do anything?

Please let me know what you mean by this.....

A nurse should NEVER think that ANY area is harder or busier than any other area.

lamazeteacher · Feb 4, 2010

I hope that an RN goes over the H&P you take, with the patients. While I can appreciate that she delegates the work to you, something could be missed that wouldn't seem pertinent to you, but would be very important. Good intuition is important, but decisions based on sound knowledge is more so.

I hope that you do go on to nursing school, and that you stay within the boundaries set for nursing students. Your RN sounds like a competant professional, but she's obviously got too much on her plagte, as does the physician for whom you both work. Igt's time that they added another phusician to the practice and at least one more nurse.

The fact that more than 65 patients are seen there in one day, indicates that no one really gets individual attention. That's 8 patients an hour! Not safe! While the doctor may get off on being such a workaholic, it isn't appropriate for you to work longer hours than you were hired to do.

What the scenario means to me, is that one doctor seeing twice the number of patients he should, means he's making twice the money than is appropriate. Now don't jump on me for that view, as I think you may see him/her as a great medical practitioner who is serving many patients selflessly. He/she needs to share his/her load, as "biting off more than you chew" can cause early death - then who would care for those patients?

You need to learn to hold your criticism of others. Just because those nurses across the street sit down for their work, doesn't mean it's less important than others' tasks. They probably have to make some critical decisions, yet their stress level seems lower. That's a good way to work, as the quality of life they have could be greater because of their seemingly slower pace.

That reminds me of a speeding car that is driven by someone who wants to arrive at a destination ahead of all the others, yet that involves danger and disregard for the law. Once you're a nurse, remember that it's more important to do your job well for fewer patients, than do a quick half good job. If you need to call the nursing office to get an additional nurse, when confronted with an unrealistic workload, do it! That's safer for the patients and your license. :nurse:

Batman25 · Feb 4, 2010

My friend works once a week and every other Saturday for a doctor's office as census is low at the hospital right now. She makes $4 less an hour than at the hospital but has a fraction of the stress and work.

KKB243 · Feb 4, 2010

i am not trying to work without a license. i am trying to figure out where i can work once i am done with school before i get into an rn program. i am going to have a plan so don't make assumptions about what i am doing...

re: pima medical insutitute
"when i went to pima to learn about the rn program they told me i had to become an ma first. is that true? "
kkb 243:
i saw the above post you made, at your site, as well as other posts you made that indicate that you haven't found/been accepted to an r.n. program, yet you want to work as one asap......
it seems pima gave you good advice. i dislike the way some medical assistants want to "pass" as knowing as much as rns (which doesn't fly), and enjoy having their employer call them "my nurse". it is damaging to both professions, for someone to appear as something they're not.
there is a law against "practising nursing without a license".

KKB243 · Feb 4, 2010

and by the way, i don't see anywhere on my post where it says i want to start working asap...

re: pima medical insutitute
"when i went to pima to learn about the rn program they told me i had to become an ma first. is that true? "
kkb 243:
i saw the above post you made, at your site, as well as other posts you made that indicate that you haven't found/been accepted to an r.n. program, yet you want to work as one asap......
it seems pima gave you good advice. i dislike the way some medical assistants want to "pass" as knowing as much as rns (which doesn't fly), and enjoy having their employer call them "my nurse". it is damaging to both professions, for someone to appear as something they're not.
there is a law against "practising nursing without a license".

Otessa, BSN, RN · Feb 4, 2010

And by the way, I don't see anywhere on my post where it says I want to start working ASAP...

I don't think the poster was going by just this post, it looked like they had looked at your other postings to come to this conlcusion.

otessa

KKB243 · Feb 4, 2010

In all of my other posts I said I want to start school ASAP.... not working.

I don't think the poster was going by just this post, it looked like they had looked at your other postings to come to this conlcusion.
otessa

lamazeteacher · Feb 4, 2010

I am not trying to work without a license. I am trying to figure out where I can work once I am done with school before I get into an RN program. I am going to have a plan so don't make assumptions about what I am doing...

Most nurses had ideas about what they'd do following their graduation and becoming a R.N., yet they end up finding areas other than the ones they thought would interest them most, where they actually spend most of their working careers.

I wanted to be a "stewardess" (flight attendant in today's regard) before I entered nursing school, as at that time you had to be a nurse to be one. I was 11 years old when that idea struck me, and I held it as my goal when applying to the school. then it became obvious that "coffee, tea, or me" wasn't a goal to be taken seriously. But hey, new grads, that may be an option for the job hungry....... You'd certainly learn crisis intervention skills and how to lessen anxiety.

Seriously, though, if you intend to stay with oncology, your experience at the radiology doctor's office will stand you in good stead, as long as you don't mention doing Histories and assessments before having been officially schooled in that process. :uhoh3:

RADIATION_RN · Feb 9, 2010

Hi guys,

Sorry I did not mean to offend anyone at all with my post. I was just pointing out how different the role of an RN can be when working in the same company. I didn't mean to demean the medical oncology nurses by calling them "desk nurses" that is just what they are referred to here. I know they are stressed and really busy, I was trying to point out the difference with the RN I work for and the ones over there and even the ones who give chemo. Sorry if I offended any of you, it wasn't my attention. :confused:

And yes the doctor I work for does see a lot of patients and our census varies so much. When we have been at the max of 65 daily treatment patients that doesn't mean they don't get the attention they deserve. Everyday when they come for treatments the therapists see them and they ask the patients how they are doing and so on. Whenever they see a patient with a skin reaction or questions, they always refer them to the RN, which in turn is told to the doctor and the doctor will handle it. And like I said before, they see the physician once every week while on treatments, so they get to spend a good amount of time with him then also. Oh and the idea of them hiring another nurse would be nice but it is just not in the budget, right now we are on a salary freeze. I asked my boss about the possibility working here as an RN when I graduate and she highly doubted that they would allow a 2nd RN here. We have 4 other radiation sites around town and this is pretty much how it is everywhere.

The RN does have to go back and look over anything I have done except for the weekly visits because the doctor assesses them right after me, so I just take down the basic info on those visits. When I see a new patient and take their history and document their problems, the RN has to go back and review the info then she has to make sure she has seen them before the patient starts treatment and she has gone over education with them since I cannot educate by myself. Sorry again if I offended anyone. Wasn't my intention.

Grow_a_Soul · May 2, 2010

The office job I had was the same base pay I had in the hospital but the overall pay was considerably less bc I didnt get bonuses and shift diff's. Also, I didnt get a raise but once out of 3 and half years. It was hard times economically so I toughed it out. It is nice being off nights, weekends and holidays and I actually did 4 10's so had a week day off each week. Thats why I stayed so long. But it was detrimental to my career. I was let go one day out of the blue and after being in such a great environment it will be very hard to find a job I like. Not to mention I didnt use many skills that I would have in the hospital. It was a lot of phone calls.... talking to home health and pharmacies and other offices and reviewing results with patients and scheduling tests and calling insurance to get things precerted. There were days where I literally stayed on the phone for 8 hours straight. :eek:

On another note, many long term care facilities still do 8 hour shifts and you may be able to keep your skills up a little better that way. Just a thought.

Good luck!