BDOGGRN

I'm an office RN at a family practice location, spending at least 75% of my time on triage via phone, email/patient portal, and the oh-so-frequent walk-in patients. My background is internal med/adult med, so I've still got some learning to do when it comes to Peds. We do have EMR decision support tools, which are great. Similar to using Briggs or other protocol books, but easily documented directly in a patient's chart-very little typing. For the most part, I enjoy this line of work. It is using our RN critical thinking skills, as well as assessment skills, to help people get the right care.

There is a pretty substantial demand for RN's, and especially BSN/RN's. My suggestion is that you explore the type of nursing/setting that fosters your nursing development, and not focus solely on pay rate. You have at least 1 year of nursing experience, which is generally the prerequisite in Chicagoland, and you have a BSN, so based on my experience in this market, if relying solely on pay rate, a reasonable base pay would be over $30/hour, with considerably more for shift differential. Also, Streamwood is a great location since it geographically lays within several different health systems.

Oh BB, always so accusing and confrontational in your posts-please let nurses nurse, without nasty comments or accusations from their peers!

People will always want "something for nothing" and many patients see nothing wrong with asking for a refill (or demanding a refill) of their DM or HTN meds, or controlled meds, even if they haven't been seen for an appt for 2 or more years. Then they will balk at coming in for an appt and having to pay their $10-20 co-pay. Like we care about the $10-20 "revenue" from their appt that they probably "no-showed" or blew off several times (which prevented others from getting needed care)! Unfortunately, our society has become rather expectant of instant gratification, like Verucca Salt sang "Don't care how, I want it now!"

Fully agree. A lot could be done to educate patients so they get the appropriate level of care in the appropriate setting. But who will ever be able to do that when staffing and supervision has been cut so drastically in primary care settings? In the locations I currently serve, I am typically the only nurse, so I am the emergency response team, and I have found myself in a few situations in which there was NOBODY that I could even direct to call 911, let alone bring an AED or oxygen. I don't care if it's a clerical staffer or clinical staffer or anyone else, I just need someone else to be aware, available, or within earshot when such a situation presents, and often there is no one.

Agree with the need for making patients aware of who their "caregiver" is, but let's be real: patients rarely ask for an "advanced practice registered nurse" or a "certified medical assistant" or "certified nurse assistant" or "physician assistant-certified" in any real situation-they ask for the "nurse" or "doctor" even if their needs can be met by other types of personnel. Are patients really expected to know the billions of initials we have tacked to staff badges? It's not as if there are only a handful of initials/credentials-there are billions!!! I thought I illustrated the litany of alphabet insanity in my previous post. Also, I am highly annoyed by the lack of support provided by fellow nursing staffers to other nursing staffers on this site-if people are looking for help, answers, or simply camaraderie, from any peers, this site would be a LAST resort. How can we possibly help patients/clients when we can't even help each other...

Thanks for pointing that out, BB. That really helps clear things up.

Not trying to be snarky, but (most)cancer, diabetes, and BiPap (central sleep apnea) are pretty low risk on the contagious spectrum. Follow through with recommended testing, and take this as a lesson learned the hard way. You will likely be extra-careful with needles based on this experience.

Medical Assistant at age 21, LPN at age 30, RN at age 31. Life-long learning! FYI, even in late 20's & early 30's, I was obviously not the youngest in my nursing school class, but was nowhere near the oldest. A good mix of age groups helps contribute to a variety of learning mechanisms, opinions, methodologies, etc. Keep at it!

Good gosh, people never cease to amaze me with their bizarre behavior, responses, and requests! Every day presents something new...

Good grief! Why not get past the initials, since most patients/consumers don't understand them anyway? The general public doesn't know the various credentials and scopes of practice for the alphabet soup of health care professionals! I'm a long-time healthcare worker who has trouble understanding this litany of letters: MA, CNA, DPM, MD, DO, RA, DON, ADON, FNP, APN, RT, OT, PT, LCSW, LPN (or LVN if west of the Mississippi River?), RN, BSN, ADN, ASN, PA-C, APRN, PCT, PSR, CNS, BC, DC.... Patients/consumers/clients would need a "navigator" or "advocate" to figure out any of this!

Thanks Klone, I will continue to check such resources, but so many of the "policies" in effect are often difficult to decipher, and still leave a lot of information subject to the interpretation of the reader. I appreciate the reply!

Started this comment on a different board. Thought I'd re-post it here: Is anyone familiar with any nursing/clinical ratios outside of hospitals or LTC's? I work in an ambulatory/clinic setting, and many such locations have had a very drastic reduction in staffing, both clinical and clerical, in recent years. In the primary care setting, we often see some of the sickest patients, some of whom stop by the office not knowing what else to do, or where else to go, when they are having a potential MI, TIA, or other life threatening condition. There may or may not be a provider, or even clinical staff, present during such situations. I would appreciate any thoughts or insight on this!

Is anyone familiar with any nursing/clinical ratios outside of hospitals or LTC's? I work in an ambulatory/clinic setting, and many such locations have had a very drastic reduction in staffing, both clinical and clerical, in recent years. In the primary care setting, we often see some of the sickest patients, some of whom stop by the office not knowing what else to do, or where else to go, when they are having a potential MI, TIA, or other life threatening condition. There may or may not be a provider, or even clinical staff, present during such situations. I would appreciate any thoughts or insight on this!

I've given thousands of flu shots, every year, for the past 15 years. Pre-filled syringes are a definite time-saver, and $-saver, since the cost of pre-filled vs multi-dose vials are nearly the same, except the pre-filled require only a needle, but multi-dose vials require syringe, needle, alcohol wipes, and staff time (and assumed accuracy) to prepare. In the absence of pre-filled syringes, it is acceptable to "pre-fill" syringes, for an event such as a "flu shot clinic," however they should be drawn/used on the day of, and should be filled by same person who will administer them, kept in proper temp/storage, and in a chain of custody in with which they can NOT be tampered.