telephone triage position

Published

Hi all,

I would love some insight from those of you who might have some on this topic.

I am interviewing for a tele triage postition next week. It is a pediatric position which is the area I have experience in. In this position I could do 50% of my hours from home. I anticipate a certain amount of challenges with this situation in exchange for the flexibility of working from home. I have 5 kids so I think that I would have to set up a quiet work area where they would not have access to, to make calls quietly and privately. I also think that I will miss my job a lot. I am currently in the NICU. I will probably stay there about 8-12 hours a month.

On the upside, I think that it would be great to be home more, even if I was taking calls for most of the time I was home. I wonder if I would have time to do quick things between calls like check homework, serve dinner, throw in a load of wash etc... I suppose that would depend on how busy the shift was. It is usually busier in the winter illness months. In the spring/ summer I think that there is more down time and people take holidays/vac etc...another plus.

I also would be working for the same hospital that I have been at for several years, which is a huge plus.

Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions, things to consider?

Jennifer

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.

Not a nurse, but wanted to welcome you aboard. Enjoy your stay!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

My DH works from home and keeps the kids home with him during the day. He's been doing this for 3+ years and he's very successful at it.

I could never do it, I'm simply not disciplined enough. But I think in a lot of fields, it's the future of employment.

He treats it like a "real" job - he sets the alarm, gets up and dressed and goes into his office and begins his day. He definitely takes breaks and does stuff with the kids, he takes a lunch break. I get home about 2 and take over kid duty so he can really work like crazy for the rest of the day.

It's worked out really well for us, especially with the kids who are 4 and 1. They are never sick, they have a really great relationship with their father and they have a ton of time to just play.

What he loves: without all the interruptions from being in an office, he's free to work and gets more work done much more quickly. He also loves how in control of his own time he is - if he's having a rough morning with the kids, he can make up for it later. If he needs to get stuff done at a certain time, we can work around that, too.

What he hates: the lack of social interaction. He rarely leaves the house and he rarely sees other adults face-to-face.

Sounds like you'll have that part covered by staying on at the NICU for a little bit of time a month. Sounds like a great job!

Good luck whatever you decide.

Amanda-

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Education, FP, LNC, Forensics, ED, OB.
hi all,

i would love some insight from those of you who might have some on this topic.

i am interviewing for a tele triage postition next week. it is a pediatric position which is the area i have experience in. in this position i could do 50% of my hours from home. i anticipate a certain amount of challenges with this situation in exchange for the flexibility of working from home. i have 5 kids so i think that i would have to set up a quiet work area where they would not have access to, to make calls quietly and privately. i also think that i will miss my job a lot. i am currently in the nicu. i will probably stay there about 8-12 hours a month.

on the upside, i think that it would be great to be home more, even if i was taking calls for most of the time i was home. i wonder if i would have time to do quick things between calls like check homework, serve dinner, throw in a load of wash etc... i suppose that would depend on how busy the shift was. it is usually busier in the winter illness months. in the spring/ summer i think that there is more down time and people take holidays/vac etc...another plus.

i also would be working for the same hospital that i have been at for several years, which is a huge plus.

any thoughts, ideas, suggestions, things to consider?

jennifer

hello and welcome to allnurses.com

great to have you with us. sounds like a good position for you. check out the telephone triage nursing forum. enjoy the site.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion