Home care triage nurse.
As a TN who began in a position with little insight into the expectations and who has been able to develop the system into one that ideally meets the needs of our home care institution, I always feel challenged. Initially, my concern was that I would lose touch with what was new and would lose my clinical skills. To the contrary, I feel that I have honed my skills. By understanding the steps to procedures and their rationale, disease processes, symptoms, treatment regimes, and through continuing education, I have become confident in teaching patients and caregivers over the phone. Although the staff includes those in each of our branches, I am able to have contact with them all now more than ever. Because we known as home care workers that it is difficult to develop relationships and trust among staff members because of the independent nature of home care nursing, forging a relationship based on trust between the staff members and the TN is crucial for delivering consistent patient care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is note-worthy that to develop the TN system effectively, I was granted autonomy and lent support by the agency administration and management. This autonomy continues to be instrumental for success.