Let's talk about nurses

[medicinewoman101]

What do they do? Seriously wtf do they do? They're pulling 75-85k a year but for what. Jobs in medicine are just made for no reason at all. Personally I'd like to get rid of all our nurses and pick up their jobs and split the salary. I cant record a blood pressure and put someone in a room? Actually I can.

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[eteshoe]

Good luck with that

 

[McConaughey]

What do they do? Seriously wtf do they do? .....

Help manage 20-30 otv per MD, coordinate the entire service, order scans, call pts and create time for planning.




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[Lamount]

Where I am training, our clinic would screech to a halt without our nurses. They handle triage, care for sick patients getting fluids/electrolytes, and gather much of the SHx, medications, PHMx (non-cancer related), allergies etc... so that, when I see a patient, I can focus on the oncological history, physical exam and discussing treatment recommendations. I would be in the room with clinic patients for twice as long without our nurses. I don't know how other clinics/centers are run, but I can tell you that without our nurses, our busy clinics would not run and we would be forced to send many of our dehydrated patients to the ED rather than managing them in house.

 

[medgator]

 

[medicinewoman101]

Actually you guys are right. Disregard post. Yay nursing!

 

[Mandelin Rain]

There is a spectrum of quality of rad onc nurses like any other profession. I think it is easy for them to get disengaged and become simply rooming machines. Particularly if they are the only rad onc RN with limited training/over site.

If your RN is operating at the level of a Medical Assistant and refuses to change, you need to speak with the manager and either get a different nurse or an MA. They'll love you if you are willing to swap in an MA and save them 50% on salary.

Roles they should be taking on...

Obtaining & Documenting Patient PMHx, SHx, FHx
Patient Teaching
Coordination of Care with other disciplines
Ordering Med Refills and Scans, etc... if you're too busy
Initial assessment and treatment of common problems (hydration/desquamation/diarrhea)
Basic Wound Care
+/- Starting IVs/Drawing Labs
Setting up cardiac device monitoring
Calling results/Protecting you from triage calls

 

[thecarbonionangle]

The real question is why do we pay residents so little? it really is absolute theft that someone with less education like a PA and a nurse makes a lot more than us 70K+ working less hours while enjoying things like unions and even a 401k. The state of residencies in this country is SAD. Money grubbing baby boomers who run "academic" hospitals claim they can't pay us more to be able to make it.