I’m an LPN and have only worked office/clinic settings because my kids are young and I need my evenings/weekends/holidays off to be home with them. Anyway, I know I’d have a VERY hard time trying to get hired on at a hospital because my skills are rather limited. I’m an expert at shots from working allergy (subcu, ID, and IM), neb tx, recognizing when and comfortably administering epi; I’m good at prioritizing from ENT work. Bear in mind, it’s not the same level of crazy as hospital work but we can see 40-50 pts A DAY in a 6 1/2 hour time span. Our busiest day had 60 pts for 3 providers. Yes, we’re doing vitals and med reconciliation, but we also do in-office procedures, surgery procedures, and even have active nosebleeds come in for tx. We’ve had the ER call us to have the provider go consult on a pt in the ER, only for the provider tell them to come to us, so the ER sends us pts directly from the ER. There’s cleaning and processing of instruments, autoclave, and processing endoscopes. We get phone calls from pts, pharmacies, other providers, hospitals, and insurance companies. We have to deal with PAs for RX and procedures. The hours are better but 8:30–5:00 doensn’t mean you walk out at 5:00; I’ve been there as late as 6:45 when the doc is running behind (then getting fussed at for OT). It’s easier but still a LOT of stress.
