Transition from bedside to call center/triage?

[Genista]

Hello again. I posted last year, as I am an experienced med/surg RN who applied to a call center job because I am wanting to try nursing outside of the hospital setting. I didn't get an invitation to interview then, so I just stayed at my med/surg job. Now, a year later, I finally got a nibble on a call center job! I am seriously considering it! (I still have to do some testing & interview...just doing my research "just in case" I get lucky with a job offer). I have some more questions for you who do telephone triage:

If you had the choice of 8 hrs shifts vs. 6 hr shifts, which is better?I am not used to sitting for that long, and have no idea what it's like.

I am curious about the internal stress of this job? Does time fly by like med/surg shifts do? They time calls at this call center, and record your calls. I hear you take calls non stop until your scheduled breaks. I *think* I might enjoy this kind of work, despite the pitfalls but maybe I am wrong? It seems like every nursing job has its own stress levels, and any job I look into has someone griping about it. There is a 4 week training and protocols to follow with position, so I think that would help somewhat. But I know the calls are timed down to the second, so that is one stress. Do you find the stress in this role at a reasonable level? Do you feel like you are helping people??

My other concern is if I do triage, will I be doomed for moving into other areas if I choose to later on? Do I need to keep up a per diem or casual position in acute care? Or is triage considered an added skill?

I am soooooooooooo ready to move out of med/surg, and try something new. I know I probably need to be brave and go for it. I just keep second guessing myself. Truth is, it is not my "dream Job." I have looked in several other specialties, and there's slim pickings in this economy. I really want to try a new area, but am clueless as to the realities of it. My dream job has not come my way, and though I doubt this would be my dream job, it may be more enjoyable than what I do now. What was your experience about making the transition from bedside to telehealth? Thanks for any feedback you may have.

[HHLinda]

I too come from LTC/Rehab and went into Telephone Triage. I received an abundance of training and my clinical background has helped me tremendously.

[VanessaRn89]

Hello!

Interesting I saw this post- I might have some insight as I work in a call center as a nurse. My job is a bit different - I do not triage per say. I work for a vendor, so nurses are hired to serve as licensed healthcare communicators for various pharmaceutical companies. Let's say you have a question regarding a specific medication- maybe side effect or stability information, you can call the pharmaceutical company and typically may get a nurse or other healthcare professional on the line to answer your questions and if you report that these side effects occurred to a patient then they are required by the FDA to make a post marketing adverse event report..... It's unfortunate that more information regarding this jobs are not out there- it is very different and only certain individuals actually stay. I am not sure how other companies work. The hours are not set in stone meaning even if you are scheduled to log out at 5 pm- sometimes it may not happen, you may get a call at 4:59 pm or may still be working on an adverse event report you received earlier ( if that's part of your job). Some days we don't receive that may calls, there may be a lot of sitting around not doing much- but again depends on what your role is and the call value, I know certain client ( pharmaceutical company) may receive one call after the other nonstop.

At my job, there are certain things you have to say throughout the call because it is a requirement ( ex. a specific greeting) you are recorded and your calls are listened and "graded" based on how you handled it and if you hit all your "marks." Some nurses find it a bit overwhelming to sit all day and take calls after call, remember everything they are suppose to do during the call, other just miss the patient interaction and using their technical skills. In this job, you use the computer at all times- especially specific programs and you navigate it while still talking on the phone ( multitasking to the max) with time you start to get it. Knowing where to transfer patients to or the information you have available to answer questions is a must- most of the clients I work for have a set of FAQs you can use and you are not allowed to give any other information then what is provided ( can be tough if you know the info or what you would do or say in a clinical setting)

At my current job we do work after hours, weekends and holidays- for a few of the pharmaceutical companies the nurses provide support and teaching as well ( injection training, answering general medication and disease questions): this I really enjoy. For other projects, I provide MRI information to HCPs and report AEs ( adverse events) and product quality complaints (PQC or PC- anything wrong with the actual med and its packaging physically), which again may differ from what you are req to do. FYI the pay not the greatest ( well at my job lol )

I know this is a lot of info so, anything specific ask away!

[Maxtang]

VanessaRn89; are you still employed in a call center? I just had an interview for a similar job to yours in a call center today. I'm an OR nurse of 28 years & looking to make a change. It seems like very interesting work for someone who may eventually want a career change to pharmaceutical research or clinical trials, like myself. If you are still employed at such, can you tell me if it is still enjoyable or has it gotten tedious? I'm very curious about the position & if offered employment for the right salary and benefits will probably accept. Thanks!

[VanessaRn89]

VanessaRn89; are you still employed in a call center? I just had an interview for a similar job to yours in a call center today. I'm an OR nurse of 28 years & looking to make a change. It seems like very interesting work for someone who may eventually want a career change to pharmaceutical research or clinical trials like myself. If you are still employed at such, can you tell me if it is still enjoyable or has it gotten tedious? I'm very curious about the position & if offered employment for the right salary and benefits will probably accept. Thanks![/quote']

I am still there, as with any job there are so positives and negative aspects. I think it depends where you work. If you are interested in the clinical trials or research then starting in an actual pharmaceutical company will be best, I work for a vendor hired by the pharm. company. I am looking into working directly for a pharma. company if I decide to stay in this field of nursing. I know some nurses that have primarily worked in this field.

[callctrspvr]

I am a Nurse Manager of a triage call center with 20 nurses and a clerk. Triage is definately considered a skill, as it requires training and autonomy . It is not for everyone because it requires nurses to think quickly without support staff around them . Our call volume is such that we do 200 calls per day on weekends and 100 per evening /night during the week. They do not sit and wait for the phone to ring, it is constant.

Our biggest challange is those who want a jobn to work from home while they reaise their kids. ALthough it looks ideal, we cannot allow our nurses to be caretakers for anyone while working. They should treat their job as if they were working from an office. It should be secluded, quiet, door for patient privacy ( no kids or dogs heard) .

I encourage yuou to keep the certifications you have . One hsould always be at the highest level of nursing you can be. My nurses are certified pediatric nurses and cpr certified. Also we do not hire new nurses, All nurses must have a minimum of 3 years pediatric experience and be stong clinical nurses who can critically think and pass a med test.

Good luck to you

[tyra_nursetye]

I worked non-clinical call center for almost two years. They both involved nursing assessment skill. Everything else was administration and customer service. It was what I call "a break from clinical" nursing. It was fun for me because I like to talk and type. So I excelled at becoming an adverse event nurse for the programs I worked on. You will have to "want to do it" because it can become stressful: call monitoring, remember scriptings and wordings, scheduled breaks, strict schedule adherence, etc. It was cool though; remember I only did it for a little less than 2 years *wink*

[kegreat]

hey, which agency did you work for? I am interested in this. Thank you

[SDSURN]

Hello all. I just applied to a Call Center job. I currently work for a call center but looking to work the PM shift (I currently work days). I'm pretty excited about this because the PM shift best suits my family life.

I have to take a compatibility test for this position. I didn't have to take one for my current position, though and a little concerned about that. Why the compatibility test? At any rate, I've adjusted well to the call center despite the 100% desk position and consider myself easy to get along with. I'm just afraid they are looking for the "perfect" type and some of these questions can be a little tricky I hear. Can anyone give me some insight to the questions and how it is used? Thanks in advance!!

[SDSURN]

Hi there, tyra_nursetye! I'm new to AllNurses and posted a comment on this thread but may not get any feedback (maybe nobody will get an alert notification?) I currently work for a call center and applied to a different call center position. They are asking for a Compatibility Test. Did you have to take one? What does it ask? I'm a little concerned as I was never scored on a computerized test that measured by ability to "be the right fit." That's usually something HR and leadership saw during an actual interview. Can you give me some insight? Thanks in advance!

[2bTraumaRN2008]

Very interesting topic for me. I have recently applied for a call center job, have been invited to interview. I have been at the bedside for 10 years and I'm looking for a change. I do travel far to work and like the idea of working from home, especially in the winter months, traveling on mountains in the snow and ice is getting old, and so is camping out at work due to the weather. I was asked for an " expected salary" in the application process which is more than what I am making currently, so I guess it's okay since they are interested.

I "sat" for 19 years before I became a nurse so that doesn't bother me too much, but like everyone else, I'm a tad nervous about the change and what to expect.

[Rntr]

Good luck with the job but one thought. I've been there and can only suggest that you keep your foot into the door or "into" bedside...On down the road when this gets very old and you want to go back to patient care you will be asked how long has it been since you had hands on....

[Ambersmom, BSN, RN]

As a travel nurse I did telephone triage/call center for a practice with 109 doctors (they were separated out into different sections but we did all the calls) some days time flew by, some days it didn't. The calls however were very interesting and ran the gamut of EVERYTHING, we had to page doctors, run interference, make urgent appts and submit Rx requests. We had to stay at the phone until our breaks. Because our call center was attached to clinical center if no LPN was available we might have to give a patient a vacc. but that was fairly rare. The permanent nurses at this site were all nurses who had done their time, they had 30yrs, 35, and 40yrs time working at this particular facility. I enjoyed working it during the 3 months I was there, but I don't know if I could have done it day in/day out for years. The room they were in was very small with 5 people (pharmacy techs) crammed on top of one another.

When you interview for the job, OP, make sure to ask if they will have you fitted for an ergonomic work station. It will make your life easier. Good Luck.