To work as a phone triage nurse, you must be a self-assured nurse with excellent communication skills and the ability to make quick decisions. These abilities are honed over time and through education. You’ll have to put in a lot of time and effort, but you’ll eventually be able to talk to patients over the phone and help them figure out how serious their illness is and what the next step in their recovery should be.
The requirements for becoming a phone triage nurse vary by country. In the United States, for example, a registered nurse must have a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Although no certifications are required to work in the phone triage department, obtaining additional training in phone communication, determining illness over the phone, and learning more about specialized health areas will assist you in obtaining employment.
Your nursing experience will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the human body and its various ailments. Because they are on the phone, phone nurses must be able to use this knowledge without any visual aid from the patient. When a patient complains of chest pains, the nurse must also be able to interpret nonverbal signs such as strained breathing.
To work as a phone triage nurse, you must be able to operate a telephone line similarly to a switchboard operator and think on your feet. You could be talking to people with chest pains, stomach cramps, a broken arm, or a bloody nose on any given day, and you’d need the knowledge and experience to listen to their symptoms and make a treatment recommendation. Phone triage nurses must act quickly because a few minutes can mean the difference between life and death in some situations.
Understanding computer software is also a necessary skill for becoming a phone triage nurse. The nurse will enter information such as sex, age, medical history, and current problem into a computer on most hotlines. Its algorithm will make recommendations for the patient’s diagnosis. In order to enter and comprehend this data quickly, nurses must have excellent attention to detail and strong computer skills.
To work as a phone triage nurse, you’ll need to use all of your nursing skills to assess a patient’s needs over the phone. This is more difficult for many nurses than face-to-face meetings, and it necessitates a thorough understanding of the human body. Phone triage nurses save lives by gathering useful information, communicating effectively, and making quick decisions.