Transition from LTACH to Ambulatory?

[gacxo]

Hello everyone, 

I am a new nurse. I’ve been working in a long term acute care hospital for about 3 months. Recently, I applied to a large ambulatory clinic and the position will be a triage RN. 
 

I am not sure if I should leave my hospital position for ambulatory care. However, my current position is very stressful, ratio is high and it’s making me not like bedside nursing. Any thoughts on how to navigate this? Anything I should think about? If I went ahead and did ambulatory care, will this then allow me to get experience enough to move on to larger hospital primary care clinics? Also, what’s the difference in pay potential and is there room for growth? Thank you. Any input is appreciated. 

[Hannahbanana, BSN, MSN]

I’d be surprised if an amb care clinic would use a triage nurse c only 3 months of post-undergrad nursing experience. But if they will, get a good orientation including their policies and procedures for triaging different presentations. This will help, and might be a good basis for moving to a more comprehensive primary care setting. 

[Hopeful RN]

On 8/7/2021 at 7:58 AM, gacxo said:

I am a new nurse. I’ve been working in a long term acute care hospital for about 3 months. Recently, I applied to a large ambulatory clinic and the position will be a triage RN. 
 

I am not sure if I should leave my hospital position for ambulatory care. However, my current position is very stressful, ratio is high and it’s making me not like bedside nursing. 

I'm sorry that it's been stressful for you. I'm so glad you bring this up. I've been applying at long term acute hospitals. I'm a new nurse and I assumed the ratios would be less. On average, what's the number of patients assigned to you?