J Lynn

I work in an office: I run in about 8am after dropping the kids off, turn on exam room lights, sign refill requests from pharmacies, get our first patient in at 8:30, weigh them, take BP and pulse, write down reason for visit, check their meds, and on to the next patient. After doc sees them, I put orders in comp. for blood work and order proceedures if need be. In between doing that, I'm calling patients back with lab results (or getting yelled at b/c I haven't called them back yet). On a slow day I can actually eat something or drink coffee, on a busy day, we see about 11 pts in the AM and the same in the PM. We get one hour lunch (usually a drug rep brings us lunch). In the meantime, I'm usually dodging calls from certain pts. We stop seeing pts at 3pm. I then rap up on my orders and calls till 4:30...then leave and go get the kids and do my errans.

When I called in to my peds office, they would fit me in without asking why and I would usually see the NP when one was available. Fortunitly, my peds office hardly has just "check ups" so I'm always able to get in, even if there will be a wait. Now, in my office, we fit people in what ever the symptom. I usually let the doc handle how severe something is. We leave a few spots open during the day for those people.

I agree about the medications. They will love you for life if you can get them some help on their meds.

Try posting in the California forum....just a thought . Have a good day.

Thank you for that post. I go in the office everyday...take a deep breath...and get ready for my 20+ patients demanding my attention. I have to say that I love it!!! My day is very fullfilling. Thanks again.

I work in a doctor's office and you get to see many different people everyday and also get to know and care about those people. They begin to trust you and that is rewarding. Not to mention all the gifts and treats they bring for Christmas .

I understand what you're asking. I'm usually the one writing the scripts in the office I work in and then the doctor signs it. He trust me enough not to even look over the script. He knows how careful I am and it's never been a problem, even for narcotics. I'll never write a script that I'm not sure of. I'm the only nurse in the office and we never had a problem with the pharmacies not accepting the script. It all depends on where you work and WHO you work for. Protect your license is first, but in my case, I know my doctor will back me up.

Alli and scallywaggs, just remember that what you're feeling is perfectly normal. I felt the same way over 2 yrs ago in clinicals. I even felt that way after I started working. Now, I practically run the joint . Hopefully, you have a good instructor that encourages you to do your best. Ask lots of questions.

As far as I know, there is no way of knowing ahead. Try to keep your mind on something else. It'll come before you know it. Good luck.

God bless your soul.....20 providers! I only work for one doctor, spoiled, I know. We don't have any way of really keeping track of med changes except to hand document in the charts. Sometimes, the patient has to tell us what they are on since the doctor won't always write what samples he gave. I try to write them myself since I see every patient before and after the doc sees them. We only see about 25-30 patients a day, so it's not too hard. Would love to find a computer program to help keep track of the meds.

This is not a huge problem in our office. We don't accept Medicaid but sometimes the doctor will see a Medicaid patient as a favor to another doctor. We have to explain to the patient that we are unable to get approval on the meds prescribed and they may have to pay outright unless their PCP is willing to do it. On private insurances, I usually call the company, but just last Fri. I faxed a request and got it back within a few hours.

Morgan314, I feel your pain. When I first started at this clinic, the nurse before me trained me for one day and left. I was stuck having to learn how to do this on my own. I was using my "catch up day" on Friday to do these and it was taking me hours. So the Doc wanted to charge each patient and have me keep the money...I wasn't too keen on the idea, but tried it anyway. Only got paid by one patient....they were glad to do it. Now, it's slacked off with the Medicare program in full gear. I acually have to call Glaxo this morning for a patient with no income....I hate calling them:madface: .

There's alway an office job. I work for a specialist and the hours are great. Family practices use LPN's to assist the docs in procedures and draw blood. We don't do any procedures. The most invasive thing I've done there is remove stitches and give injections.

:chuckle :chuckle :chuckle i was waiting for someone to post about good ole south louisiana. as an lpn with 2 years office experience, i make under $11.00...never got a raise, either. the work is easy so i try not to complain about the money.

I was one of the older ones in my class at 28. The younger ones were out partying and I was home fixing dinner, bathing kids, washing clothes, and studying when the kids went to bed. I struggled with my grades because I'm more of a hands on instead of learning from a book. My mind was everywhere but in the book. I passed school and boards the first time (by the grace of God) and landed a great office job with great hours. Pay is ok for a small town. In Baton Rouge, I'm sure pay is good. Maybe between $10-$12 to start for office...more for LTC or Hosp. Good luck.

I worried about not going staight into a hospital or LTC after school because I would lose the skills I had learned. I went into an office setting because of the hours (8a-4:30p), no weekends or holidays. I have two children and a husband so I needed that. I drive almost 45 minutes away from my home. It's worth it to me. I hope you make the right decision for you. Good luck.

Triage can be tricky at times. My doctor will be on vacation for three weeks and I have to decide if patients should go to the ER, urgent care center, or their PCP. That's when my job get a little stressful. Usually if they are complaining of SOB or chest pains....I tell them ER. If it's a cold or UTI and they've been on anibiotics in the past that we've prescribed...I call in the meds. If they need a doc to look at something that's not quite ER status...urgent care is a good place to go...or their PCP. Some of our patients use the specialist I work for as their PCP and I tell them they should always have a "back up doctor", but they don't listen and when he leaves every summer....we go through the same thing :icon_roll .

Hi Mo. I accepted an office position right out of school. I had no experience anywhere. Just the little bit of office rotation during my clinicals. The doctor I work for was wonderful in helping me to understand what I needed to do. He helped me in answering the patient's questions which later led to the confidence I needed to answer them on my own. Once I got to know the patients and how the doctor handled their questions, It got really easy. You need to work under good leadership. Work for someone that builds your confidence, not shoot you down. If a patient is rude to me or any of his staff, he's sends them a letter of dismissal from his practice. No one is allowed to speak down to us in anyway. It's a great enviroment to work in. I hope that you find that with this office. If there is alot of negativity, run to another office. Ask around. Once you get to know the other office nurses, you'll find a place where you can really enjoy working, or you'll get blessed like me and hit it the first time. Good luck. Let me know if there are any specific questions you have.

I work for an Endocrinologist making 10.50/hr. Not bad for as easy as my job is. I also love it most of the time. We don't do any procedures which is great....I'm pretty spoiled.

Any word yet on that resume you've sent?

Thanks, but I've already found it. Suebird sent in the suggestion to change the name from Outpatient nursing to Outpatient/Office nursing. Before it just seemed like Outpatient rehab or Outpatient surgery.

The LPN program can be intense. Lots of studying all week long. It's basically a RN program crammed in about 15 months. I did it with two small children at home.....didn't think I would make it at times. If you don't have any distractions and have alot of time to devote to the program, you should do just fine.

If you want to work in a Doctor's office, LPN may be the way to go. In my area, docs only hire LPNs, CNAs, or MAs. They don't want to pay for a RN. I made 10.50/hr right out of school. Depending on where you live, it may be higher. Also, some docs will train you to assist them in proceedures, something you won't learn in school.

Wow! I make less than that as a LPN.

I know this is an old topic, but there were so many patients needing this kind of help that the Doc had to charge them for the work I was doing for them. Now that Medicare Part D is here, those patients no longer qualify, but those that don't have any insurance and make approx. under 20 grand a year usually qualify. I give the apps to the patient that I get from the internet and they fill it out and mail it. Less work for me. It's a great program for those who qualify.