Telephone Triage Nurse Career Overview

What Is a Telephone Triage Nurse?

Telephone triage nurses, or TTNs, use their skills and knowledge to assist patients over the phone or via video call. When a patient is unsure if they should seek treatment, they often call telephone triage nurses first to describe their injury or symptoms and receive medical advice.

Many organizations offer 24-hour/day triage, seven days a week, and these hours are staffed by telephone triage nurses. As a result, TTNs may be required to work weekends, nights, or holidays, depending on their employer. Telephone triage nurses must work well under pressure and be able to think quickly and critically. They often use employer-provided algorithms to help determine a patient’s needed level of care and ask relevant follow-up questions to assist in their decision.

Where Do Telephone Triage Nurses Work?

Telephone triage nurses often work from home, but may be required to come into an office, hospital, or call center. Whether at home or onsite, TTNs can find work with:

• Crisis hotlines
• Health insurance companies
• Hospital emergency departments
• Outpatient facilities
• Poison control centers
• Private medical practices
• Trauma centers

For telephone triage nurses, where they complete their work and take their calls isn’t as important as what they do. Wherever they work, telephone triage nurses must be ready to manage complex medical situations at a distance.

What Does a Telephone Triage Nurse Do?

People call telephone triage nurses at moments of uncertainty and heightened anxiety. Something has gone wrong: a loved one is sick or a child is injured, and the caller isn’t sure what to do. They are calling for reassurance and advice. Upon receiving a call, telephone triage nurses must first ascertain whether or not the caller needs to hang up immediately and call 911. Once they have ruled out the need for emergency services, they can begin asking questions.

During the call, telephone triage nurses find out why the person has reached out, and ask detailed questions to gain a full picture of the situation. If on a video call, TTNs may conduct visual assessments. During the course of a call, telephone triage nurses may:

• Activate medical response teams to bring patients to the hospital
• Arrange lab specimen collection
• Offer evidence-based advice for managing symptoms
• Refer patients to a specialist
• Schedule appointments with a healthcare provider

Telephone triage nurses have to work fast and assess the situation efficiently so that patient care is not delayed. This nursing specialty is not an easier alternative to bedside nursing, as some may think. It can be stressful and difficult. However, some nurses thrive in this environment.

How Do I Become a Telephone Triage Nurse?

Telephone triage nurses have to start where all other nurses do: by attending nursing school.

Once an aspiring TTN has graduated from an accredited nursing program with an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), they are called graduate nurses (GNs). GNs become registered nurses (RNs) after they pass the state licensing exam, the NCLEX-RN.

Most telephonic triage positions require nurses to have some years of experience before they will be considered for the job. TTNs must have the confidence in their practice to work independently and make critical decisions in a short window of time, and experience is the best way to cultivate this skill.

Some of the best workplaces for triage experience include urgent care facilities and emergency departments. The triage concept is employed every day in these settings, and telephone triage employers look favorably on that type of experience.

While telephone triage nurses don’t have a certification specific to their specialty, many seek out an ambulatory care nurse certification. Offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, this certification partly focuses on telephone triage. To be eligible to apply for the Ambulatory Care Nursing Certification (AMB-BC), nurses must have:

• An active RN license
• The equivalent of 2 years of full-time experience as an RN
• A minimum of 2,000 hours of clinical practice in ambulatory care nursing within the last 3 years
• 30 hours of continuing education in ambulatory care nursing within the last 3 years

How Much Does a Telephone Triage Nurse Make Per Year?

Telephone triage nurses earn much the same as any other registered nurse. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), RNs earn an average of $94,480 annually. Salaries can change based on location and experience, from the low-end average of $63,720 to the high-end of $132,680. Depending on your workplace, your employer may be able to offer higher or lower compensation:

• General Medical and Surgical Hospitals: $96,830
• Offices of Physicians: $83,110
• Outpatient Care Centers: $102,640

Salaries also vary depending on which state a telephone triage nurse practices. The West Coast, New England states, and Alaska pay their nurses the best, but the cost of living in these areas can also be high. The lowest-paying states are in the Midwest and some Southeastern states.

The top-paying areas for telephone triage nurses include:

• San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA: $174,370
• Vallejo-Fairfield, CA: $171,620
• San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: $170,780
• Napa, CA: $166,180
• Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA: $154,510
• Santa Rosa, CA: $152,930
• Modesto, CA: $145,190
• Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA: $140,880
• San Luis Obispo–Paso Robles–Arroyo Grande, CA: $140,560
• Stockton-Lodi, CA: $138,420

What Are the Benefits of Being a Telephone Triage Nurse?

Telephone triage nursing can offer many benefits, from a flexible schedule to the possibility of working from home. It’s also less physically taxing than other traditional nursing roles. For an experienced nurse who can no longer meet the physical demands of bedside nursing, telephone triage can be the perfect career move. Personal safety can be another benefit of this specialty. With the barrier of space between TTNs and their patients, these nurses will never catch an infectious illness from a patient in this position.

Are Telephone Triage Nurses in High Demand?

The telehealth industry is growing, and fast. According to Fortune Business Insights, the telemedicine market was valued at $87 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow to $286 billion by 2030. More and more people are feeling comfortable seeking healthcare advice through telehealth, and jobs are projected to rise with the market value.

Health facilities of all kinds across the U.S. are feeling the nursing shortage. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports 24% of U.S. hospitals have reported critical staffing shortages. While this number may not be specific to telehealth, it still speaks volumes about high nursing demand.

Additional Resources for Telephone Triage Nurses

To learn more about becoming a telephone triage nurse, these additional resources may help:

• American Telemedicine Association
• American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing
• American Association of Poison Control Centers