Telephone triage Jobs

The nursing industry has expanded dramatically over the past several years. There are now several career paths in the nursing industry for nursing graduates. One of the most uncommon services are those pertaining to telephone triage jobs.

Telephone triage jobs are part of the telehealth industry and may be considered as similar to nursing jobs in terms of providing care and assistance to patients. This industry targets medical situations where the use of technology can provide health care with greater efficiency and higher quality than traditional delivery of such services. As such, telephone triage jobs, as defined by Wheeler (1993) is the safe, effective, and appropriate disposition of health-related problems by trained registered nurses using guidelines or protocols. The telephone is the basic tool used in providing health care. Therefore, unlike other jobs in the nursing industry, telephone triage jobs involve the interaction between patient and nurse that takes place exclusively by telephone.

Work Involved in Telephone Triage Jobs

Telephone triage jobs or tele nursing jobs are interactions between patient and nurse that include assessment, patient education, and crisis intervention. Practitioners of telephone triage jobs are more than message takers. Telephone triage jobs require you to take an active role in decision-making. However, this does not involve making nursing or medical diagnoses over the phone. Rather, telephone triage jobs require you to collect data related to the problem and the patient's medical history, match the symptom pattern to the protocol, and express your advice. This allows for safe and timely results.

Necessary Skills for Telephone Triage Jobs

Applicants for telephone triage jobs must demonstrate strong critical thinking and problem solving skills with proven clinical organizational skills. Most telephone triage jobs also require you to have excellent prioritisation, time management, and communication skills. To gain an advantage when applying for telephone triage jobs, you must also demonstrate positive customer service skills and appropriately care for patients over the telephone. Both computer and literacy skills are essential. Other possible qualifications for telephone triage jobs are as follows:

  • Registered nurse
  • Functions well under time pressure
  • High levels of experience or expertise in:
  • Crisis intervention
  • Teaching/coaching
  • Diagnostic/monitoring
  • Life experience as parent/caretaker

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