Do you miss face to face?

RobynLL · Dec 22, 2014

Well, I don't get sick anymore!

LillyDarling · Dec 26, 2014

I don't miss face to face. You'd be surprised how much you can help a pt over the phone. It requires a very special type of understanding and you have to be able to put emotion in your voice. I work for a Pharmacy (desk job) and educate pts about their medications. Love my job:-)

LevitateMe, RN · Dec 30, 2014

I don't miss face to face. You'd be surprised how much you can help a pt over the phone. It requires a very special type of understanding and you have to be able to put emotion in your voice. I work for a Pharmacy (desk job) and educate pts about their medications. Love my job:-)

Thank you prettyinblack! I start on the 12th. My current boss cornered me today asking why I was leaving and actually asked "is it about the money?" Lol no doc it's less stress and yes a huge raise, probably just peanuts to him though. I want to work with adults who care about what they are doing and are actually capable and willing to do their jobs. I love talking to patients and helping them work through things. I'm hoping this will be a good fit. â¤

pfchang · Dec 31, 2014

I dont miss face to face, especially face to face with lazy employees who sat around while I ran around like a nut case.

LillyDarling · Jan 1, 2015

Thank you prettyinblack! I start on the 12th. My cubrrent boss cornered me today asking why I was leaving and actually asked "is it about the money?" Lol no doc it's less stress and yes a huge raise, probably just peanuts to him though. I want to work with adults who care about what they are doing and are actually capable and willing to do their jobs. I love talking to patients and helping them work through things. I'm hoping this will be a good fit. â¤

You are very welcome:-) The only downside to telephonic nursing, to me anyway, is being tied to my desk by a headset for 10 hours a day. Make sure to exercise when you have time. My employer has a gym in the building so we can use it whenever! Good luck on your new endeavor!!

dirtyhippiegirl, BSN, RN · Jan 2, 2015

I do pre-operative assessment/telephone triage, and there are still plenty of people out there who are not doing their jobs or wanting to do their jobs or only doing a half-butt job at their job. My job is a bit different because there is still a huge clinic component that you probably won't have working at a straight call center, so I won't get into a crab-fest about having to network with AAs and MAs on top of nurses and the occasional MD. You do tend to run in to a LOT of patient non-compliance (often more subtle than the stuff on the floors but it's there) and there's not really much that you can do about it.

I really do like my job a lot but I find the downsides to telephone nursing to be a lot more than just missing out on the face to face.

CannondaleRN · Jan 19, 2015

I don't miss face to face that much. It is such a relief not to deal with body fluids or trying to lift heavy human beings.

MatrixRn · Jan 25, 2015

Disease management is different than triage.

Some companies have staff that do a little of both, but others, well if a nurse is hired for disease management they dial for dollars all day long, where as triage they sit plugged into a headset and wait for calls to come in.

Both are good just depends upon your preference.

DistrictNurse19 · Apr 10, 2015

I found myself disliking the amount of hours I just "sat" on the phone, not to mention the weight I gained from lack of exercise during the work day. I left telephone triage after 15 months as I truly missed the "hands on, face-to-face" patient contact. I did telephone triage in a large (teaching) Family Medicine Clinic whereas it seemed the primary callers were the patients needing an "early" refill on their narcotics. I got burned out with that! Hope all is going well for you!

Tampa121 · Apr 11, 2015

I have read articles, stating welcome to the new nursing practice. Insurance driven, of course. We have DOCS in the BOX and now Tele Nurses. Yes, you can do a lot of T/T by phone. My moto: When in doubt...send them out!! TO ER if in crisis!