Advantages and Disadvantages of A Clinic Nurse

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

I am a clinic nurse. Advantages: weekends and holidays off. Decent hours. Disadvantage; can be the same, if you have business to take care of which places are open with the same hours as my job. I work 'late clinic' for that reason. Also, you can lose bedside skills. I work per diem in other places to make up for that, but I am not EVER leaving the clinic unless they boot me out.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

If salary is of any concern to you, clinic nurses are often paid substantially less money than their hospital nurse counterparts. This has been the case in the two states in which I've resided (California and Texas).

[sharona97, BSN, RN]

Any clinic nursing I have done ( and I'm picky) has always been a well-established clinic that includes RN's, LPN's, Specialists. I have found that the pay-scale has varied wether it is a unionized clinic or not. I had a Monday through Friday schedule, with an obligation to work 4 hours on a Saturday twice monthly.

The benefits are well looked at. Sometimes it better to take less per hour and have paid benefits for you and your family. And paid holidays that you don't work. More family time.

Most clinics I have worked in are attached to a hospital, therefore affiliated with that hospital.

And on a personal note, over time you get to know your patients, as they continue coming in for their appointments, which in my experience has really helped in critical thinking when you see a really"sick" patient as opposed to their norm. I've heard the largest cardiac rubs heard ever with an OB/GYN pt, I've seen Mobitz II blocks and acted upon them fast. I've seen patients hit in ther car by a deer that has brought them to the clinic with dissected carotids.

Office working can be boring, it's not for everyone. IMO it is always best to go with a good well-established clinic that cares about providing good care. And I am so thenkful that I have been blessed to work one on one with some of the best and smartest docs ever. I've always worked in a specialty arena and loved what I did. After reading and hearing about the horror stories in the hospital settings, I'd prefer a saner, safer environment to work in especially after 30 years of service where hospital dynamics have changed to ridiculous expectations of nurses.

Good Luck!

Sharona