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Brought to you by Kaiser Permanente
Name: Donna Weifert
Age: 53
Title: Advice RN
Company: Kaiser Permanente
Location: Sacramento, California
Monster: How did you get your current position?
Donna Weifert: I applied during a recruiting fair. I had experience in an acute-care hospital, in a dialysis clinic and in a convalescent hospital. I had to take a typing test.
M: What do you do in your position?
DW: I take inbound calls from Kaiser Permanente members. I triage the patients, make appointments and give home-care advice. Sometimes I need to send patients to the emergency room by ambulance. Calls range from cardiac events to ingrown toenails. I also deal with calls regarding pregnancy and birth control, abuse and rape, newborn to adolescent care, and ear pain. The advice RN develops a wide range of knowledge.
M: Bring us through your typical day.
DW: I take pediatric, OB/GYN and medicine calls. I work in a cubicle and wear a headset. The patient or the parent of the patient relates the symptoms. I ask questions based on written protocols, and the answers drive the outcome. Unfortunately, not all the symptoms fit the protocols. We do need to use our nursing judgment and assessment tools to arrive at the best outcomes. I take 40 to 60 calls in one eight-hour shift, but this is the first nursing job I have ever had where I get all my breaks. I work in a large building with approximately 400 people.
M: What have been the biggest rewards in your career?
DW: I enjoy helping the patients and the new staff, and I have been able to advance up the career ladder. I have learned much about areas of nursing that I had no exposure to in the past. I do enjoy coming to work every day.
M: What are some of your biggest obstacles on the job?
DW: It is difficult to assess the patient whom you cannot see. We sit for extended periods, although the desks move and we are occasionally able to stand while we work. It takes about six months to feel really comfortable with the protocols.
M: What's the best advice you could give someone looking to get into your field?
DW: This is a great job for a nurse who wants to get off the nursing floor or out of the clinic. We have many disabled nurses working here as well as nurses with young children who are looking for shorter hours and older nurses in their last positions before retirement. You can work four-, six- or eight-hour shifts; days, evenings or overnight; and 16, 20, 24, 32 or 40 hours per week. You will be wearing a headset, so the job could be difficult if you have a hearing problem. Since we work on computers, some experience with computers would be helpful.
M: What do you or your company look for when hiring people?
DW: Kaiser Permanente looks for nurses who are able to communicate effectively. A wide range of nursing experience is acceptable.