Imei

As long as you are prepared to wear two hats, you won't have much difficulty at all. There are clinic positions with direct patient care that will still have some triaging over the phone as part of the work. Likely, there may be some check lists of procedures and duties that will need to be observed, just like a proctor or preceptor, but once you demonstrate the skill under observation, you'll be back in clinical practice in no time. I find that many places are very welcoming of the fact that I am comfortable working with people as well as technology, and worded that way, can be a terrific asset in the application and interviewing process.

If you are still looking to get into Telephonic Triage, try looking at larger medical centers during September - November, when many are hiring RN's because of the URI season. Experience and ease with computers is a plus. You have to be able to talk and type at the same time.

I have to agree with KerenRN. While telephonic triage positions usually supply carefully vetted protocols that you can read, people themselves often present with symptoms that don't fit the protocols perfectly. That is where experience, combined with active use of the nursing process, comes into play. There have been a number of times where my gut "instinct", honed by using the nursing process in the clinical setting, led me to offer a triage step up the ladder to a course of action that happened to be more assertive and focused. In some cases, I get to hear about the outcomes of those choices, and in a recent case, was applauded by a PCP for having caught something that could have otherwise slipped through the cracks. Any software program or protocol book is only as good as the operator - the nurse applying the nursing process backed by clinical skills s/he has exercised time and time again.

The National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) relocated to NYC from Seattle, WA this year. They are an excellent resource for information on ED's, CEU's for clinicians, what is happening in the media surrounding ED's. Beware of blog which are actually those with ED's who are pro-Ani's (pro anorexia). Instead, I would look up online clinicians in your area who are therapists with training on ED treatment, and read what they have on their blogs. They often have local resources listed on their sites, as well as their favorite books and articles on the topic. ED's are very recalcitrant to treatment, with the average tx'ment time being about 4 years for an ED that has had time to settle in the lifestyle of a young person. One important tip to remember: an ED is not about the food. Getting into arguments about food and eating is an argument and struggle that you will not "win". Whenever a patient goes into this direction, your mind should be asking questions about what the patient is avoiding, which is usually some aspect of relational pain, fear, loneliness, anger, or loss. When caregivers address these issues, it is more reasonable to assist the patient in changing his/her relationship to food as well as to him/herself.

If it's an option to continue on for a Master's Degree, consider mental health counseling, with an emphasis on dual diagnosis clients. Clients with poorly controlled diabetes, eating disorders, mood disorders in combination with recovery from an injury -- all of these people can benefit by seeing a medically-trained person, not just an LMHC.