Rounding Nurse Position?

TazziRN, RN · Apr 5, 2007

I think hourly would be better, since the pt census is always rising and falling. You might get a really nice paycheck one month and almost nothing the next.

CritterLover, BSN, RN · Apr 5, 2007

hello everyone.
help. i have a few questions.
i have an interview this week with a internal medicine doctor who is in need of a rounding nurse. what exactly do they do??? i currently work in med-surg(1 1/2 experience) and i have seen a nurse who rounds with a gi doctor and another with an infectious disease doc. i see them pull the charts for the docs and print the labs. what are the other task?
when i asked the doc about the pay rate he said we can discuss that during the interview and that it was up to me if i wanted to get paid by the paient or hourly. which is better? what is the pay rate for rounding nurses in central florida?
thanx:)

what they do depends on the doc and the facility.

where i work, they write out most of the progress note -- what the consults have said, lab results, xray results, diagnoses. this keeps the doc from having to write all of that out. then the doc comes by, reviews what the nurse has written, and adds anything/makes corrections, and signs the progress notes. some docs want the rounding nurse to include assessment/plan, others just want them to incude the subjective/objective data.

some of the docs have standing orders for the rounding nurse to write -- such as am labs, loc, certain dx tests based on the specialty and/or dx (like f/u cxr for dx of pneumonia). some docs don't do this. again, if the rounding nurse writes for these things, the doc cosigns the orders when he/she comes around.

i have also seen where the rounding nurse dictates the h/p, d/c summaries.

it is all really variable depending on what the doc preferrs, and what the facility/state will allow.

in general, the purpose is to make the doc more efficient (and to hopefully make the progress note more legible :) ) by having the nurse write most of the stuff out.

the whole system does get abused some, though. i see some docs who never set eyes on their patient -- they depend completely on what the nurse has written, and the nurse's assessement. :uhoh3: i know that rns are good at assessing, but that doesn't mean the doc doesn't need to do his/her own assessment. the patient deserves that (and cms demands it).

i don't know about the pay. is this going to be a full-time job, or supplemental? i'd ask how many patients the doc typically sees, and go from there. are you quick, or do you tend to spend a lot of time reading a chart? i tend to be quick, so a per patient rate would be better for me, if i were in your situation. for others, though, an hourly rate would be better.

good luck in your interview.

Rudegal2020 · Apr 7, 2007

Thank you Tazzi and critterlover for your inputs :)