Doctors office job..think I made a mistake...

[Marshall1]

I took a position in a doctors office a few months ago. While I don't have to get up early & the hours aren't bad, the distance isn't too far from my home, I realize this is not the type of nursing for me. What I was told during the interview the job would entail has turned out to be completely opposite.The doctor runs late all the time & for no real reason other than he is slow & on the phone w/friends & family. The job doesn't utilize any nursing skills (not even vital signs & again, this is different than when I interviewed). I have, politely, brought this to the attention of those I interviewed with..they dance around it. The doctor himself was friendly during the interview but has literally not spoke 100 words to me since I've been there nor does he acknowledge the others in the office unless needed. I am not saying he should stop & chit-chat w/any of us but when I say he doesn't acknowledge us - I mean at ALL unless we approach him first for something then it's short answers to the point his meaning isn't always clear. I am staying because I need the money & because, frankly, it's an easy job. But, it's boring, making me lazy as a nurse & I know I need to get back into a position that is better suited for me. I honestly do not understand why they hired an RN for the position because an unlicensed person could do this job easily. There is also an LPN who works there. She was hired a few months before me & basically is sent home early a lot because there is little for the both of us to do. She too is confused as to what she was told in the interview & what its turned out to be. The only other job offer for me is a 12 hr hospital shift which I'm not opposed to however it's at a hospital about an hour one way from where I live. I am torn as to just hanging in there w/this office job until something closer opens up or going ahead & taking this position an hour a way to at least keep my skills up. I do NOT mean to offend anyone who may work at a doctors office but at this particular office..there are other things too..it's not very clean though they claim to have a cleaning crew, the doctor doesn't wash his hands between patients & I notice he has them come back a lot when there doesn't seem to be a need & several complain, directly to him, about his care. The also keep expired items - nothing major but still. I know I just started so maybe I'm reacting too quickly? Thoughts??

[Start2]

Hi Marshall1:

Could you continue working at the doctor's office to assure an adequate income and less stress while searching for a better position closer to home? In the meantime, is there a nearby free clinic where you could volunteer for one day a week to utilize your nursing skills? Would this help you feel better and more like the type of nurse you are accustomed to being?

Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

[Zookeeper3]

I'm sorry to hear that you are not learning and progressing. You have two options... traveling that hour, and I've commuted 90 minutes each way myself to get it in Buffalo snow (which can be three hours).. or you can hang on and keep what you're doing and maximize it while you're looking.

You have so much you can learn... look at each patient complaint and diagnosis and what the doc ordered... learn that and you're ready for the ER... you look at a patient, figure out what you think is wrong ahead of time and figure out what the doc will order... anticipate it... that's all part of a small ER way of thinking, it's triage! Look up each med and teach the patients about them, the side effects and the importance of compliance.. CHF.. weigh yourself each day, cut down on the salt, print out teaching and learn from each diagnosis as you go.

While you wait for that ideal job... you have so much you can be learning, but it's not handed to you, you have to work for it, search it out and learn as you go.... that is what floor, ER and ICU nurses are doing. We are actively involved in our own education on diseases, treatments and medications... you're bored, you've been going through the motions without realizing how much you can learn.

It's up to you to make this a valuable experience or just be bored.. choose..

[mentalhealthRN]

Ummm.....doesn't wash his hands between patients???? God that is gross!! and if the state department of health caught him a huge fine! Are there any other docs offices or clinics near you? I agree that you should look into other options. A one hour drive is a lot after a long shift and you are at risk for getting into an accident...especially if you live where there is snow. Could you go part time and maybe per diem at the hospital a shift of two a week until something opens closer to home? I could not stand that kind of unprofessional environment and it sounds gross!!! LOL-- and a call to the DOH wouldn't hurt.

[Fiona59]

The outdated stuff, is it free samples from the drug companies? If so, clean them out, rotate the stock. These are the kind of things that get overlooked in an office, everybody thinks somebody else looks after it. I once cleaned out a wall of cupboards of outdated samples. When the reps came in they just jammed their new stuff at the front of the shelves. Those same reps wouldn't take back the expired stuff, so your office bears the wastage costs.

If you know your Dr. writes script on these drugs, ask him if he wants you to put samples with the charts when it comes time for refills.

Show initiative, like others have said, do the vitals. Prepare a sample education pack on diabetes, HTN, smoking cessation. Ask if he would like to use them.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

OH, and it takes me 30 minutes to cross town to my hospital. An hour's drive is nothing in my part of Canada.

[aileenve, ASN, RN]

I would LOVE an office job, I work as a housekeeper, nurses aide, diet tech, secretary and transport at my job

[klone, MSN, RN]

Ah, don't listen to the intellectually lazy ones who say to keep your cushy, brainless job (and if you're not intellectually lazy, then I'm not talking about you so don't get angry .

I personally would not WANT to work at a job where I wasn't able to use my brain and my knowledge and my hands on technical nursing skills. (Even after five years, it never gets old putting in a foley or starting an IV!)

Hospital nursing is hard, but it's also challenging, and at the end of the day, I feel good to have stretched my brain and my skills.

I say go for it!

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

I was an office nurse for 10 years, but it involved tons of assessment, vitals, procedures etc........

I think you should go for it if you have an opportunity.

A background of hospital experience will open a lot more doors for you eventually than a background of office nursing.

[T -Dog]

It sounds like your time at work is boring, unproductive, unfullfilling, and not challenging in any way. If you haven't been a nurse for very long and you continue in your current job, your skills will still be there, but they will be a bit rusty. You don't sound like your going to be at your current job for a long time, so those skills are definately worth keeping sharp, especially when you are looking for and start a new job. Start looking for something new that will be rewarding and challenging to you, where you'll feel like you are needed and your presence makes a difference. There are good and bad aspects to every type of nursing.

[netglow, ASN, RN]

Along with Fiona's line of thought, when a doc needs an RN in office he usually expects that nurse to be a nurse and do nursing stuff.

Some will want you to know how they'd like things done, others will not. These "others" really expect you to know as a licensed nursing professional, what the heck you are supposed to do. They do not intend to teach you, because you are to get what you're lacking on your own for the most part, and doctors don't do nursing.

If in your shoes, I'd start to find what you see as a nurse that might benefit patients/practice clinically and if out of the ordinary, run it by him. I would not focus on cleaning out anything. What you might do is work on revising patient forms if you see he uses old ones that could use some helpful updating on questioning, etc. Start to put together a patient edu file too. Work on getting to know your patient base. It's a lot of work, but you'd be surprised at how you get to know who is on the phone, and can suggest ideas to that doc once you two build a relationship, he'll appreciate the perks if he's smart.

[OldNurseEducator]

IMO, if you chose to stay at the doctor's office for any length of time, you will lose all your nursing skills and your ability to get a hospital job! Why would you want to be bored? Just my .

[caliotter3]

Do what many hospital nurses do, add a shift or two of home health to your easy office job. I agree with the others, keep the easy job for the paycheck, attempt to add to it, and look for additional opportunities to work on your nursing skills. It is true you will not necessarily get much in the way of skills utilization in extended care home health, but vents, trachs, GT tubes, and patient assessment should offer a little variety. Good luck.

[Sl1011]

You kind of sound like me!!! I graduated nursing school (RN-ADN) in August 2010, and I applied to several hospitals but none were hiring. I just had a baby a few months before graduating (my 2nd child), and I was really concerned about finding a job!! So i decided to apply at a doctor's office, the doctors office I actually get seen at about 5 mins from my house! Well, they hired me and I started working there in September when my baby was 6 weeks old. The pay is decent for an RN in an office setting, Mon-Fri, one half day off a week (unpaid) and you rotate Saturdays about every 6 weeks, major holidays off, 1 hr lunch, close to home. SOunds perfect huh? Well, I'm really bored. Yeah, there are days that are busy, but I don't do anything really exciting. I think as a new grad, I really want to be in a hospital... I loved my clinical rotations there.. although stressful, I enjoyed it and felt like I accomplished a lot. My preceptorship (while I was huge and pregnant) showed me what the 12 hour shifts would be like and I'm ok with that. All my friends from nursing really enjoy being in the hospital believe it or not, and a couple friends of mine who are in a doctors office setting are also bored and don't like being there.

It seems like I do a lot more skills than you do in this office (Vitals, EKGs, tons of injections, breathing treatments, and very occasional dressings), but this isn't what I want to be doing.

I got offered a day position at a hospital about 17-20 mins from me (about $25 more a month in gas) on a Surgical floor, and I accepted and will be quitting this job on Feb 8th. But this pays $1.90 more an hour, and an extra $1/hr more after orientation, $5/hr more on weekends, and after 3pm there's a little extra too. It's a great teaching hospital, not too far from home, just 3 days a week, and it will help me with my skills that I really feel I need to keep up with. I think having surgical/medsurg experience under my belt will help me with future jobs.. actually I know it will since SOOO many other jobs here require that. I admit I'll probably miss the "cushy job" a bit, but I think this decision is a good one and I am going to try and be there for at least a year. The nurses on that floor said they had been there for 3-7 years, so that's a good sign. Anyway, I just wanted to say I kind of understand your situation and I would do what makes you happy.