Would like to become a telephone triage nurse

ibfnp2006 · Jun 19, 2005

I have 18 years experience as an ADN nurse and am going for my BSN. I am interested in becoming a telephone triage nurse. Is there any type of training available in Houston, TX? How do I get into it?:lol_hitti

I don't live in Texas (although I earned my ADN there). I am currently a phone triage nurse in the midwest. I can tell you that other than learning which medical info. software package your (prospective) employer uses, there is just nursing common sense and experience to rely on, along with basic comforting people skills. Since you get a variety of caller concerns from a variety of the callers, depending on what your triaging, the wider your experiences, the more comfortable you'll be in this job. ibfnp2006

BeckyJN · Jun 20, 2005

Thanx. Do you know what software is most commonly used?

ibfnp2006 · Jun 25, 2005

Our system uses 'Centramax'. It's 'okay' - but I don't have alot of knowledge about other systems, nor how many there are in use everywhere. If you're a speed typer like I am, it's a pain negotiating between the keyboard and the mouse at times but otherwise it's do-able.

By the way, if you get in with someone who pushes you on working for a shorter length of calls - get this: My hospital just told me the average call time is 12 minutes and they would like to see our calls take a little longer to come closer to this 12 minute average. So not everyone is SO pushy with emphasis on production.

Just a small piece of advice: I've been doing this for almost 2 years now and if you hire into a company that has SO many calls lined up waiting ('in the que') - to me, that's a hint that they need to hire more nurses and not try to rush the ones they have - likely you'd have a quicker burn-out with a job like that.

I just finished my BSN 'up here' and will be moving to Texas next month to start Grad School. I don't know if I'll stay in triage (I don't exactly know if it is used in Corpus Christi) or if I'll try to get into something else - I'm in the job-hunting stage now. :)

BeckyJN · Jun 25, 2005

A co-worker of mine said that she had been in telephone triage nursing ans she got out of it because of the potential for lawsuits. Do you find this to be a risk? How do you deal with that risk.

ibfnp2006 · Jun 25, 2005

A co-worker of mine said that she had been in telephone triage nursing ans she got out of it because of the potential for lawsuits. Do you find this to be a risk? How do you deal with that risk.

We are reminded alot that if we follow the built-in guidelines of the triage software program, we are better protected. In our software program - Centramax - there's a sort of a disclaimer at the end you click on that basically says advice given is only a recommendation and is not intended to be a diagnosis. We also tell them and document same, they can always call their own physician directly and seek his/her advice. I don't see a huge problem with lawsuits. :)

KJS · Jun 27, 2005

I also work with Centramax and have since I started doing telephone triage back in 1997. The system is OK, I guess. I haven't ever worked on another program and it beats paper charting!

Wren · Jun 28, 2005

BeckyJN, you could check out Disease Management Companies and I suspect there are several in Houston. RNs call patients for scheduled education calls around chronic disease management. Most of the patient have this as a benefit of their insurance program (BC BS, Aetna, etc) so they don't pay for it. Very low stress job! :)

Tucwebb · Jun 29, 2005

I have 18 years experience as an ADN nurse and am going for my BSN. I am interested in becoming a telephone triage nurse. Is there any type of training available in Houston, TX? How do I get into it?:lol_hitti

Out of curiosity, what is an average salary for a triage nurse? Thanks.

ibfnp2006 · Jun 29, 2005

Out of curiosity, what is an average salary for a triage nurse? Thanks.

Our salaries vary alot. I think a guesstimate would be from $16 or so/hr to >$25 plus a shift differential of $1/hr for evenings and $2/hr for nights here in our area.

Wren · Jul 5, 2005

Our Disease Mgmt nurses earn about 23 - 26 an hour. :)

Pagal · Jul 11, 2005

I have 18 years experience as an ADN nurse and am going for my BSN. I am interested in becoming a telephone triage nurse. Is there any type of training available in Houston, TX? How do I get into it?:lol_hitti

Becky,

Galveston has a Health Care Hotline with 3 jobs posted for telephone triage. It is a great place to work and they use Centramax. The volume is increasing and that is why the positions are open. They require 5 years experiance in critical care and that you can type.