Working in a doctor's office?

featherzRN, MSN · Jul 3, 2004

I work in an outpatient clinic/ Dr's office that's part of a major HMO (Kaiser) and it's wonderful! The hours and every weekend off just can't be beat.

featherzRN, MSN · Jul 3, 2004

I work in an outpatient clinic/ Dr's office that's part of a major HMO (Kaiser) and it's wonderful! The hours and every weekend off just can't be beat.

mushberry · Jul 3, 2004

So how long were you working in the hospital systems before you got jobs like these? I'm assuming it wasn't right out of nursing school. See, I'm starting in a hospital, but I'm hoping to move after 3 or 4 months tops, and so I'm wondering what my options are. I have limited experience, being just graduated, so I guess I'm wondering what the reqs are for working in a doctors office as well, and if it's hard to get a job in a place like that. :)

Thank you all so far for the info! I never even realized a nurse could work in an office setting until recently, and I kind of like that idea. It's definitely appealing to me. :)

I'm guessing people work in a lot of different types of clinics, from family practice clinics which was what my original questions were about, to other types of clinics...would they differ in ease of getting a job there?

mushberry · Jul 3, 2004

So how long were you working in the hospital systems before you got jobs like these? I'm assuming it wasn't right out of nursing school. See, I'm starting in a hospital, but I'm hoping to move after 3 or 4 months tops, and so I'm wondering what my options are. I have limited experience, being just graduated, so I guess I'm wondering what the reqs are for working in a doctors office as well, and if it's hard to get a job in a place like that. :)

Thank you all so far for the info! I never even realized a nurse could work in an office setting until recently, and I kind of like that idea. It's definitely appealing to me. :)

I'm guessing people work in a lot of different types of clinics, from family practice clinics which was what my original questions were about, to other types of clinics...would they differ in ease of getting a job there?

Dixiedi · Jul 3, 2004

What is the turnover rate like in clinics? I would have thought actually that a clinic nurse would get paid more than a hospital nurse, but I'm only just learning about it. :) 3 12 hour shifts does sound nice...I'm not used to that...where I did all my rotations in nursing school, the schedule was 2 on, 2 off, 3 on, 2 off, 2 on, 3 off. You worked every second weekend, all the time. It actually kind of sucked, especially if you worked Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, and then had to start Wednesday morning on days. You don't really get to recover. So 9-5 does sound appealing to me, but maybe that will change once I am in the hospital, but not only that, I like the idea of working in a clinic, especially if it's like what ivsandy described. It sounds pretty varied. :)

With all the HMOs across the country now, the 9-5 M-F is no longer a given for office nurses.

The pay rate always has been less but you might find clinic work in a university type setting where the pay would be the same as the floor nurses.

You may loose some of your bedside skills but you will gain many new skills in interacting with pts and families in an ambulatory setting.

Dixiedi · Jul 3, 2004

What is the turnover rate like in clinics? I would have thought actually that a clinic nurse would get paid more than a hospital nurse, but I'm only just learning about it. :) 3 12 hour shifts does sound nice...I'm not used to that...where I did all my rotations in nursing school, the schedule was 2 on, 2 off, 3 on, 2 off, 2 on, 3 off. You worked every second weekend, all the time. It actually kind of sucked, especially if you worked Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, and then had to start Wednesday morning on days. You don't really get to recover. So 9-5 does sound appealing to me, but maybe that will change once I am in the hospital, but not only that, I like the idea of working in a clinic, especially if it's like what ivsandy described. It sounds pretty varied. :)

With all the HMOs across the country now, the 9-5 M-F is no longer a given for office nurses.

The pay rate always has been less but you might find clinic work in a university type setting where the pay would be the same as the floor nurses.

You may loose some of your bedside skills but you will gain many new skills in interacting with pts and families in an ambulatory setting.

mushberry · Jul 5, 2004

With all the HMOs across the country now, the 9-5 M-F is no longer a given for office nurses.
The pay rate always has been less but you might find clinic work in a university type setting where the pay would be the same as the floor nurses.
You may loose some of your bedside skills but you will gain many new skills in interacting with pts and families in an ambulatory setting.

The way I figure it, a skill is a skill. You pick up and lose them all the time. I mean, no matter where you work there are some nursing skills you are going to use on a regular basis, and the other ones are going to fade a little...and you can always relearn them.

What is an HMO though?

Dixiedi · Jul 5, 2004

The way I figure it, a skill is a skill. You pick up and lose them all the time. I mean, no matter where you work there are some nursing skills you are going to use on a regular basis, and the other ones are going to fade a little...and you can always relearn them.
What is an HMO though?

We agree on the skills! I love it when somebody around here agrees with me! LOL

Health Maint. Organization.... health insurance

heart1st · Jul 6, 2004

I am taking a phlebotomy program in my school that is under the "medical assistant" umbrella. One of my instructors indicated that dr's like MAs a lot better in that a) they are trained to do the clerical ("front office") as well as back office skills; and b) they make a lot less.

A physician at my Church who retired recently from Kaiser indicated that the trend is for Dr's offices to hire MAs and not RNs, since MAs can do just about everything an RN can (except IVs). His wife is the only RN in the pediatrician's office she works in. I'm surprised that someone said they work in the dr's office (clinic) at Kaiser; the Kaiser in my area it's almost all MAs.

heart, EMT, SN (RN: March 2006)