petty,s.t.

Thank you so much for responding to my original post. I hoped to interview another telephone triage nurse for a homework assignment. That is no longer the case as assignment was due before your reply. Which VAMC do you work? I am in Augusta GA. I have spoken to some other triage nurses and found out how their call centers are ran, which is very different than ours. Please know that the VA is not immune to corruption, if you have a few hours I can tell you a few things. I too have worked in the private sector and the VA beats them hands down with benefits and nurses' rights. I was amazed when I found out I had "rights", I did not feel like I would have anyone looking out for my best interest at for-profit hospitals. I enjoy having rights and a union to protect my and my fellow nurses rights. I think that it is wonderful that RN's can not be mandated to work 16 hour shifts. The VA is a great place to work but it is not perfect, no place is. You have to weigh the good with the bad and choose the place you fit in the best and gives you what you are looking for.

Sorry to hear of your troubles finding work. It is very difficult to come into a facility on a straight day shift, Monday through Friday, weekends and holiday off position. At times, you have to bite the bullet and take a position on a less desirable shift to get your foot in the door. Once working at the facility, then you will have first bite at future openings at that facility. I started working at the VA on straight 8 hour night shifts for a year before a day position opened up that I could apply/ interview for. That job was 8/ 12 hour day shifts which was difficult at times to manage being a single parent of 4. After 3 years I was able to obtain a position as a telephone triage nurse with the hours that I desired. Another thing you might need to know is that when applying for a job, they do look at your previous work history and if you are not staying in any position for any length of time, the company/ hospital may not hire you as they see you as a person who may not stay around after they invest time and resources training you.

Good question. I work for the VA so we are to be licensed in the United States, they are not much interested in which state. One job I had to be licensed in my home state and the state that I was receiving calls from (Georgia and South Carolina). So I guess, it would depend on what the rules and regulations are for the company that you are working for.

Telephone triage is like an "ask a nurse" service provided by some hospitals or private companies. According to the other post by Vtachy1, apparently you start your own business as well. People call when they have questions about medications, pending procedures or symptoms. You as the nurse provide them with answers to their questions, utilizing data bases via the computer or software programs provided by your particular institution. When triaging a caller, you must be very good at reading between the lines, and drawing out the information that you need to make a good recommendation. You are not able to see the patient, but you can hear many things such as how they are breathing, coughing, wheezing, anxiety, etc... You make determinations if the caller needs to call 911 immediately or come to the ER, an urgent care, see their doctor or a specialists. You must stay on top of the latest information in health care and also the latest medical scare as you will get questions about that as well. Last year when the H1N1 was going around 90% of my callers were positive that they had it. I hope this answers some of your questions. I live in Georgia as well but I am not aware of any job openings in the Atlanta area in this specialty, but don't give up, keep looking.

I am a telephone triage nurse at a VA hospital. I am also a MSN student. I was wondering what the telephone triage nurse position was in other parts of the U.S. and in the private sector. I only triage Veterans and they are a very unique and special group of individuals. Also working for the Federal Gov't has it's own special spin on things. Wondering if anyone would like to share their personal work experiences with me?

What is office triage?

When I first made the transition from bedside nursing to telephone nursing, I was in a bit of culture shock. I worked ICU/CCU for 3.5 years and made the move so that I could go back to school and "spend more time with my family". Initially I was bored half out of my mind when the calls were slow, 15-25 calls a day. I had nightmares at night and sometimes cried myself to sleep thinking I had made a major mistake. I missed my patients. I really loved caring for them and then I went to a position to sit on my behind for 7.5 hours a day, we only get a 30 minute lunch break. I felt like I was not being a nurse, no more starting IV's, lab draws, IV drips, ventilator adjustments, watching my patients get better and leave the unit. Gradually, I realized that I was still being a nurse, just from a different aspect. I still help my patients and their family members utilizing my mind, research skills, computers skills, communication skills, and deductive reasoning as well. It is much more difficult to care for someone you can not actually see. When I stopped feeling sorry for my self I realized that I enjoy patient teaching and I get to do that more than I ever could on the unit. I currently take between 60-105 calls per day and get satisfaction from my callers telling me thank you, which was something I hardly ever heard while working on the unit.