New to Ambulatory Clinic

[pussNbootsDolly]

I will be starting a new job in an ambulatory care clinic. I am trying to understand my role and I am just not sure if I will succeed. I accepted the job because the description stated "entry level" nursing. It seems as though much more than basic entry level nursing is being required. Growing up, I would get my required immunizations at a local clinic. I never really understood what other services were offered at that clinic. Can someone tell me what skills I should try to improve on in order to succeed working at this clinic?

[pfchang]

Your question is far too vague for anyone to help. Do you have a job description?

[karol_d5]

I am a nurse at a health center, I work in the OBGYN department so your department might be different if it's pedi, family, or adult. I can tell you that it is not for everyone, I have met a lot of great nurses that simply do not like working in the clinic, if it's not urgent care then you might not be able to have a lot of "hands-on" opportunities, unless your office performs certain procedures that require special training.

What I like about my job is that I am able to get to know my patients and see them for an extended period of time, I have been working there for 4 years and I see some patients returning to care for their new pregnancy, so I get to know them well. You will probably do a lot of phone or in-person triage, that requires good assessment skills and learning to ask the right questions, a lot of critical thinking to determine the best course of action. Immunizations and injections are common but one thing I see in some nurses is that they see immunizations as just "giving shots" but in my department we take every patient contact as an educational opportunity for the patient and the family, so we provide a lot of education to our patients at every encounter. You might get some wound care and IVs but it depends on your department. Just like pfchang said, we need more information to help you better.

[JennBSN918]

This really depends on what type of clinic this is and are you a licensed practical nurse are you a registered nurse ? those job responsibilities would vary too

I am a registered nurse . I left bedside nursing and went to ambulatory care nursing about three years ago .

I started out as a float across internal medicine specialty clinics and my main job would be patient teaching, assessment triage calls (telenursing) injections, prescription refill review, regular and immunosuppressive lab monitoring.

And there's a whole lot of patient education I hope this helps your question good luck

[ivyleaf]

This really depends on what type of clinic this is and are you a licensed practical nurse are you a registered nurse ? those job responsibilities would vary too

I am a registered nurse . I left bedside nursing and went to ambulatory care nursing about three years ago .

I started out as a float across internal medicine specialty clinics and my main job would be patient teaching, assessment triage calls (telenursing) injections, prescription refill review, regular and immunosuppressive lab monitoring.

And there's a whole lot of patient education I hope this helps your question good luck

JennBSN-- Do you miss bedside at all?