Cape47

Actually, once you have done tele triage for a while, when you are on your 20,000th call and a new "manager" who has zero actual, real world triage experience evaluates your call, that's when micro-managing becomes a thing. The clinical equivalent would be to work in an ER or ICU for fifteen years, and have your supervisor watch every single med pass that you do, all the time, every time.

It's typical that the pay is lower versus front line clinical but remember that for working at home you subtract commute costs, viz, gas, wear and tear on car, time lost traveling and so on. As far as losing your 'spot' in your job, I wouldn't worry about it. I've never worked at a place where the ER was 'hard to get into.' IF they fill your position, just wait a month, I'm sure a similar position would open up in no time, in case you want to go back. Personally, I believe that 40 hour work-weeks for telephone triage is too much. You get burned out pretty quick, especially if its a busy center. But as they say, Nurses follow management, and what that means is that most of us would rather work a tough job with a good manager than an easy job with a terrible manager. This applies doubly for telephone triage: It's the management that makes or breaks the job. Many managers/sups have no idea what they are doing in this field, so they bumble and/or over micro-manage (which is really, really easy in this line of work) and usually what happens is there is a high turnover. I would ask the following, for interview A) How long has the management been here? If the answer is anything B) What software do you use? This is important. You can research the interface that they use and see if it's user-friendly versus an antique POS that Agents hate vehemently. One example: E-Centaurus. I will NEVER work at another job that uses that awful, antiquated, clunky software. Ever. C) Will I have the option to fall back to part time? If the answer is 'no,' walk away. Some call centers will tell you "we don't hire part time," a huge mistake, because they want everyone to be 40 hours. What ends up happening is this mass exodus. And the company, rather than admitting that they goofed, will simply spend ten thousand dollars re-training and re-licensing a replacement. D) This job is a lot more than 'answering the phone' and there are different kinds of call centers. Some call centers are 'open' meaning that 'anybody with a phone' can call you. These are the hardest call centers with the highest turnovers, since you can (and do) get perverts, abusive callers and generally socially mal-adjusted miscreants who think that just because there's a Nurse on the other end that they have their own personal punching bag at their disposal. Also, you usually have to get all their information first which, aside from being a retarded operating model, is tedious and makes the job much harder versus the 'pre-registered' models. Imagine having to ask for someone's DOB "cold" at three in the morning when they are keeling over in pain. So yeah, no fun. But these call centers are also the easiest to get into (you basically just have to have a pulse to get in) and are good for getting TT experience. E) Generally, most callers are super nice and it's rewarding even when you are stacked with calls. There will be a few meanies and "entitled" callers but don't focus on those. If the call center is 'free' (the caller isn't paying for the call) some callers still act like they are paying for the call and expect a heavy white glove treatment. How much cushion the management gives you against the abusive/entitled callers will make a huge difference in your stress level.

So I'm going to be starting at a call center that has some desks with "half" partitions and others with what appear to be regular partitions. I hadn't thought about the sound issue before since I'm coming from a clinically forward position after 20 plus years. I suspect that a lot of nurses who are considering going into telephone triage may not think about this much since there are no "dividers" in, say, an E.R. or I.C.U. I've read a few horror story type articles about open office layouts (offices with no partitions at all) and can't imaging how this could be a good thing for any call center. This applies only to a non-remote center. What are your experiences with partitions vs open office? For those who are currently working or have previously worked in a regular call center. What's it like working with half partitions? Or full ones? From what I understand the three primary office layouts are (A) Fully partitioned workstations (B) "Low walled" or half partitioned cubicles and © Open workspaces (where you can see and hear what everybody else is doing) For reference https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/30/google-got-it-wrong-the-open-office-trend-is-destroying-the-workplace/ Forbes Welcome

Just wanted to stop back in and say thanks for all the responses. I am still on the fence but I did get an offer for evenings.

That's just what the offering company sets the rate at. I asked in a telephone conversation with the recruiter. Haven't actually seen the work environment so I don't know what I'm getting into. Right now I'm at part time in my ICU job but I can survive on the current pay rate. To match that @ $25/hr I'd have to go up to a 40 hour work week, plus the drive would be a bit longer to and from. So, I'm not sure what I would be getting into.

Hello. I've recently had some health issues that I won't bore you with but let's just say I experience vertigo all the time. Meds don't really help since I have vestibular damage. Right now I work in an ICU but every shift is a struggle. So, there are new openings for telehealth for another company (HCA). Pros - Lower physical stress - Won't have to go through panicky feelings/anxiety just going to work. Cons - Huge paycut per hour (38 down to 25ish) - Will have to work more hours to compensate for paycut. - May have to get licenses for other states. My questions are basically, what am I looking at work-environment wise? This is a standalone office, not a work at home deal. I am wondering about what they expect you to wear. Can you wear casual clothes? Are you stuck in a closet or micro-cubicle (typically) or is your work environment more open? Finally, probably the biggest question, would you go down to $25 an hour from "over 35" for a telehealth position? Is that too low? Thanks if anyone can help me on this. I'm desperate, and lost.