please explain to a student

I work at a telephone triage, after hours call line. We answer the phone for calls that normally, the MD on call would be taking. We go through the patient's concerns and symptoms. Using the protocol provided by our call center, we help the patient decide what they should do, whether ER, Walk in clinic, wait for 24 hours, page the MD, home care advice, or see the MD in the next x amount of time. Patients frequently call just to hear the home care advice for various ailments. Our call center handles family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, OB, endocrinology, surgical, and some specialists. It is quite an interesting job. It does require a good number of years of experience, as it takes knowledge to ask the right questions and come to the correct conclusion.

I work for a pediatric call center. We do the same thing as to the previous post except it is with sick kids. We put in all the info for the problem/injury/illness and then either send them to the ER/call pcp(dr)/see the pcp in 24 hrs/call EMS/or give home care advice. It is a community service and is free to the public. We have 6-7 nurses on each evening and take up to 6-10 calls per hour. Sometimes it may just be a simple question like how much Tylenol/Motrin to give or as bad as they are blue and very congested. We get the whole range of questions. Many parents do not know what they would do if we were not available. Doctors do not have as much time as we do to teach parents how to care for their sick/injured kids. We make sure they know what to do and what to watch for that may signal a more serious problem. Hope that helps!! :)

Thank you both :)