Is it any fun working in a doctors office as an RN? Or something along those lines

netglow, ASN, RN · Mar 7, 2011

If you work in an office, chances are you will be drawing blood for labs - a lot. There are many hospitals that have a lab team and access team for almost all blood draws and IV insertion. I know many RNs that have never done these things as the hospitals they work at are set up this way. Like people have posted previously on other threads, having another faction do these things increases ability for the hospital to bill more, but it also can make it a better experience for the patient if you have someone access who has A LOT of experience in doing it.

allnurses Guide · Mar 7, 2011

Not sure what story you're referring to, but your chances of getting HIV while following proper precautions already in place are very, very low. It certainly shouldn't keep you from working in a hospital if that's what you want to do.

Also, it's entirely possible that you would be drawing blood in a doctor's office. You might actually draw more blood in an office than you would in a hospital because they have phlebotomists and an onsite lab.

When I worked in a doctor's office I drew the blood, spun it, did a manual hematocrit and poured off the top and got it ready to send to the lab for the rest of the tests. It was fun!

If you want to work in an office for reasons other than you are afraid you'll be exposed to HIV, overall I enjoyed the work, but job opportunities for RNs in that specialty aren't what they used to be. Best of luck!!

wnb4 · Mar 7, 2011

I think ill just work with babies lol

Trauma Columnist · Mar 7, 2011

Babies have HIV hep B etc too.

Sl1011 · Mar 7, 2011

I worked at a doctors office, and I was vey bored as a new grad. So I left after 5 months and accepted a job at the hospital (orienting now). I may go back to that years later, but it wasn't for me. I felt like anyone could do my job and I wasn't learning anything. Anyway, our doc office has it's own lab, so i Never drew labs. It depends on where you work. Have you applied to any?

Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP · Mar 7, 2011

I worked at a community health center (more or less like a doctor's office) and LOVED it. I got stuck once by a needle there but people get stuck by needles in hospitals too. As a matter of fact, I got a stick while working in the nursery a few years ago.

What I loved about the CHC was that we did everything except prenatal care - babies, kids, adolescents, adults, geriatrics, you name it. I saw all kinds of cool diagnoses and learned a whole lot that I use now that I work in a hospital.

Chris99mu · Mar 7, 2011

I thought most dr's offices, at least that I have seen, are staffed by medical assistants. I rarely ever see actual RNs.

Another option might be a same day/outpatient surgery center. They can be similar to dr's office hours (no nights, weekends, etc) but can also give a "hospital' feel.

GL

MissM_RN · Mar 7, 2011

I think there is a chance of being exposed to HIV in any field of nursing and any type of setting. I know the ER is a big place for people to be exposed because angry patients come in and purposely try to infect the staff.. They will try to spit on you or put their blood on you, etc. (This is not the norm, but it does happen with combative patients, intoxicated patients, etc). There are many violent patients that may come in through the ER and any type of altercation could result in exposure to HIV+ blood, Hep C, etc. But again, this can happen in any setting. If you use standard precautions, the risk of you becoming exposed is minimal. Be sure to wear goggles if you are emptying tubes/drains, etc to reduce the risk of a splash going into a mucous membrane like your eyes or your mouth, etc. Wear gloves if there is a risk of exposure to bodily fluids. Do not re-cap needles. Most needles have a safety device anyway where you just slide it up and it re-caps itself.

Although you may be drawing blood more at a Dr's office, I think the patients generally would be more stable than in the hospital where there are many different tubes, lines, etc. that pose a risk for infection. good luck in whatever you choose to do!

AntMarchingRN, RN · Mar 7, 2011

i worked at a doctors office, and i was vey bored as a new grad. so i left after 5 months and accepted a job at the hospital (orienting now). i may go back to that years later, but it wasn't for me. i felt like anyone could do my job and i wasn't learning anything. anyway, our doc office has it's own lab, so i never drew labs. it depends on where you work. have you applied to any?

my story is that exactly!

i went to work in a pediatric neurology office thinking i could use my rn and psych degrees together in a great scenario. i lasted 5 months. i was bored and could feel my clinical skills slipping away everyday. i took the job because the market was saturated and it was available, but i would never do it again. just not for me. i wasnt even a glorified medical assistant, i was just a (slightly) better paid medical assistant.

the hours were good, m-f 10-7, but i would end up staying until 9 or 10 pm to help the doctor with personal things like making flights and preparing things for business trips. i was used as a personal assistant while the medical assistants in the office (who trained me...) would refer to themselves as nurses. drove me crazy!

there was one other nurse in the office. she was an older woman who was helping in the office with phone calls and administrative things the docs couldn’t get to. she would ask me almost everyday why i wasn’t in the hospital and refer to the office as somewhere old nurses go to wait until retirement. she was right. i had just worked too hard to get 3 college degrees and be a medical assistant in a lab coat.

that was just me. if you like the slow pace, it may be for you. you may get in a better office with better docs that don’t take advantage, but my advice is to really consider both sides of it. there is a small chance that with safe practice you will be stuck with a needle, there is a large chance that in a doctor's office you could lose skills and hurt your chance of returning to a hospital in the future.

there was a fun part though. the drug reps always brought in great lunches when they wanted to talk to the docs about their products!!

good luck to you.

to avoid the flames- i do not look down on those rns that work in doctors’ offices, or medical assistants for that matter. i’m just stating i got a raw deal and it wasn’t for me. i know there are better offices out there and rns that handle more clinical situations. that wasn’t my experience.

DizzyLizzyNurse · Mar 7, 2011

No offense to nurses working in dr's offices, but I worked for 1 day at a dr's office and was bored out of my mind. I've worked in a nursing home 9 years and I've never stuck myself with a used needle.

wnb4 · Mar 8, 2011

Babies have HIV hep B etc too.

LOL i know this...