In the US, people like the define themselves by their work. After travelling to places like Britain, France and Australia, I can honestly say that I have not had ANYBODY in those countries ask me what I do for work. I should probably add that when I have been to gatherings at my friend Trammell’s house, when I am usually the only white guy(I prefer the term “Melanin Challenged”), usually African-Americans will greet you with “How ya doin’?” Or “How ya feelin’?”…You never get asked “So, what kind of work do you do?” Well, almost EVERYWHERE else in the US, you hear that question. A lot.
It’s one thing when you tell people that you are a nurse, but then when I try to explain that I don’t work in a traditional setting like a hospital or clinic, and that I am a Triage Nurse, I get some major deer in the headlights stares back.
It’s a speciality that I did not start out to do in Nursing School. I wanted to work in Pediatrics. I ended up kind of falling into phone triage.
Back in 1996, I had done homecare nursing, worked adult Neurology, worked with ventilator-dependent kids and a pediatric medical surgical unit. I loved pediatrics. I just hated the hospital politics. When I got hosed over on some vacation time-I had wanted to be a camp nurse-not only did they not approve my leave, my supervisor approved a different nurse for her vacation so that SHE could work as a camp nurse…and juggled the schedule so that she could work their an extra week. After coming home from work one day, feeling punk-sore at the world, I found a post card addressed to me that talked about being a phone triage nurse. It sounded interesting, and I had enough of the politics at the hospital where I was. I contacted the company who had contacted me to find out more about the job.
It should be noted that back in 1996 I was totally computer illiterate. I did not even know where the on and off switch was on a PC. I figured that if nothing else, I would get some computer skills. If it did not work out, I could go back to hospital nursing.
I found out that I enjoyed talking with people on the phone and going through their symptoms and then directing them of what they needed to do. The part of me who had wanted to become a teacher really enjoys the patient education part of this job. When You can take a parent who is panicking and set to call 911 or go to the Emergency Room and then to get them calmed down to the point where they realize that they are in control and that they can take care of their child-and with some of these parents, it’s no small thing.
There are times I miss “hands- on nursing”. (That’s why I try to work as a camp nurse with the Concordia Language Villages each summer)I don’t miss the hospital politics. I sure don’t miss getting peed or shit on, or having to move a 300 pound patient.Since I am kind of a “Chatty Kathy”, as my brother Bill has called me, being on the phone and talking with patients is kind of a natural for me. There are challenges to this type of nursing. You have really a few seconds to gain the caller’s confidence that you can help them. You don’t have the luxury of seeing your caller, you are going by sound and what the caller is saying and what you can get by probing and follow up questions. It’s an interesting aspect to what I do, and it’s one reason why I really like my job. I feel like I am a lucky guy. You hear a lot of people in the US bitch and moan about their work. Me and and my best friend from High School, Tom(He’s a canine policeman in Palmetto, Florida) are pretty lucky in that we both do jobs where we help people and get a lot of satisfaction from it.
I know what you do for a living! It is a tremendous service and one piece of the “what are we going to do about the healthcare in this nation” question. It is so crucial to give people a resource like a nurse to ask questions and empower them with knowledge and understanding so they can take the proper next steps. Improper use of the health care system is one issue that drives up healthcare costs and therefore healthcare insurance. And for the most part, people don’t know when they are supposed to go to the doctor, ER, Urgent Care, specialist, etc. etc. More scary is how little they know about well care or living with a diagnosed condition. The education you do helps people on both and individual and global level. It must be amazing to have a job that has such an impact.
Now try telling people you are a Business Architect and Solution Delivery Specialist for a Nurse Triage organization…. That’s deer in headlights!
Your blog is impressive,it is always in my mind after i read it.