Advice Nurses?

RobynLL · Nov 24, 2014

I have bee advice nurse for over a year and I really like it. I work for a small company and I work at home. I find it very rewarding as well.

HHLinda · Jan 22, 2015

I've been in my position for the last 2.5 years. Didn't think I'd like it; however I love it! It's stressful, at times micro managed but I've learned so much! And I continue learning. Plus, it forces me to actively listen.

MatrixRn · Jan 25, 2015

I like working triage and I do agree with HHLinda there is a great deal of micromanagement involved. A LOT.

MA Nurse · Jan 31, 2015

I will be starting as an advice nurse in March. Ive been in NICU for 25 yrs. ready for a change. glad to hear you like it!

MA Nurse · Feb 1, 2015

I have a question. Do you feel like you have more autonomy now than you did on the floor? I am also curious if a manager is standing over your shoulder a lot?

KG916 · Feb 2, 2015

No manager standing over you but so far I have nit had any issues. The callcenter is such driven by data lkke they keep stats on everything. .the amount of time you were logged on how long you were on break how long your lunch was and then of course the score based on quality and based on the manager's review so yes in that respect it is micromanaged but like I said I go in I sit on my desk I do my shift and go home there reallyis not very little time to socialize with your co-worker sitting right next to you because you're constantly taking a call after call after call.

MA Nurse · Feb 2, 2015

sometimes its good not to have time to socialize! lol

MatrixRn · Feb 12, 2015

I have a question. Do you feel like you have more autonomy now than you did on the floor? I am also curious if a manager is standing over your shoulder a lot?

Yes they could be standing over your shoulder if you are new or not complying. But really its not so much standing over your shoulder as they will pull up a chair and Y into your phone so they can listen to each call live as you do them.

But for the most part you are managed at a distance, like in the hospital setting.

Working on the floors or in the unit, I felt like I had great deal of autonomy on how to manage my day. I chose which patient to see first, and what order to do my assessments. I documented per hospital standards, but that documentation is not reviewed by management unless there was an issue. When I went into a patients room, yes I had skills to do, but I could choose the order and also I could choose what I wanted to say.

On the downside, however, I was crazy busy.

In a call center environment everything, and I MEAN everything is timed, checked, documented and scripted. By that I mean if you work 8 hours a day you can expect to have your headset on all 8 hours except for lunch and breaks.

Lunch and breaks are built into your schedule, you take them when it is your time, and if you are not back on time you get docked money, but also get a tardy. At some centers 2 tardies equal an absence.

Production is closely watched. Different places have different production, but if you triage, you can expect to take anywhere from 25-40 calls per day. The length of the call [talk time] is watched. If you gab to long to one member and then take to long charting you will not make your quota and be dinged.

On the other side of that coin is quality. If you do not talk to the person long enough to solve their problem and ask the right questions you will also be dinged. By ask the right questions, I mean that many things said on the phone are scripted. Most companies will tell you what you MUST say when you open the call, what data you MUST collect, what questions are expected to be asked based on the type of call and how to close the call.

Some may say hey, what about triage? Well that is scripted as well. Evidenced based algorithms are used to guide the questions asked and give a triage disposition that you are expected to follow...even if you do not agree. I have yet to meet a company that does not strictly abide by some type of triage protocols. Nurses are not on the phone speaking off the tops of their heads.

All of this said, I still enjoy this type of work.

Why did I share this info, because I have trained many nurses who leave the floors and think going into a call center means they are free to use their previously acquired knowledge how they chose, and when they arrive they learn about these protocols and freak out. Many are stunned when they get their first call review a month in and get a crappy score; often because protocols [ie. did not use scripting etc] were not followed, OR the nurse missed an opportunity to intervene.

Can that happen? You betcha. Easily and often for the newbies. There are many skill sets that need to be developed, that were not learned on the bedside. One of the biggest ones is how to listen and assess with only your ears. It is easy to miss a stray word or a pregnant pause.

At the end of the day, this is a job that requires you to work. But can be very rewarding once mastered.

MA Nurse · Feb 12, 2015

Thanks for the info. I work for Kaiser. I know two nurses who already work in the call center so they told me about t

learning the scripts and waht we are scored on, etc.

thanks for the info. I am looking forward to trying something new after almost 25 years.