Since the field of nursing is a diverse one, a registered nurse enjoys multiple career opportunities and constant room for advancement. Two examples of possible work environments that offer very different experiences are working in a hospital and working in a doctor's office.
Here are three ways in which working in a hospital as a registered nurse and working in a physician's office differ.
Different Growth Opportunities
Working in a hospital will open up many opportunities for learning. This is true for most types of hospital nursing. The surgical floor, the medical floor, pediatrics, maternity and more will open a nurse's eyes to many learning possibilities and challenges. Working in a doctor's office will likely touch upon more general aspects of disease and surgical procedures. There will be educational opportunities as well as challenges, but they will be geared more towards office procedures, protocol and practices.
Staying on Your Toes
A hospital nurse will need to endure more physical labor than a doctor's office nurse. There will be lifting, pulling, pushing and more. There will also be more walking and standing. Many people enjoy this form of physical activity and view it as a great form of exercise. A physician's office nurse is more likely to end up sitting down during the day. There will be some walking, but nothing that can compare to that of a hospital nurse. The nurse in a doctor's office will take patient vital signs along with their office duties in most cases, as well as serve as the doctor's assistant when needed.
Proximity to Patients
Both a nurse in the hospital and a physician's office nurse will experience a variety of emotions. They will probably get close to their patients as they care for them. When patients pass away, a registered nurse may feel sadness, but she will also feel a sense of joy that she did her best to care for them and make them comfortable throughout their illness. A nurse in the hospital is likely to feel this more intensely, as the patient is most likely in a more acute stage of their illness and had more needs, which the registered nurse provided them. Conversely, a physician's office nurse might get to know the person before they enter into the acute stages of their illness.
Many people enjoy the adventure of working in the hospital despite it being more physically demanding on a nurse. More often than not, a nurse will begin working in a hospital setting and then transition to employment in a doctor's office as they get older and need to withdraw from the more hectic environments. Nursing is a rewarding career that will serve you well, no matter which path you choose.
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