THE PREPARATION, UTILIZATION, AND EVALUATION OF A REGISTERED NURSE TRAINED TO GIVE TELEPHONE ADVICE IN A PRIVATE PEDIATRIC OFFICE

Abstract

A registered nurse, specifically trained for the telephone evaluation and management of the health problems of children, is a valuable addition to a pediatric office staff. The training of the nurse by the physicians, through a series of teaching sessions, is described here. To evaluate the results of her training, more than 16,000 incoming telephone calls were tabulated over a period of 1 year. Approximately half were administrative calls and half medical calls. An average of 25 medical calls daily were taken by the nurse. In 92% of the cases she was able to manage the problem either directly or after consulting with the physician. Patient acceptance was excellent. The expansion of the nurse's role broadened the scope of services and significantly increased and improved pediatric care in our office. The nurse provided prompt, accurate advice which met the patient's specific needs and resulted in more efficient use of the physician's time in providing direct care to the patient. Through her assistance, an additional 2 to 3 hours of physician's time became available for patient care.