Today the MD at my clinic asked if I would be her "IR nurse". Basically this means that I would get trained to help her do these assessments called impairment ratings on people who have had on-the-job injuries to determine if they have any permanent impairments. Each IR costs A LOT of money and it is rather a big deal for us to do this at our clinic. We have had to send all our patients out to another clinic to get the tests done, but if we can do them, then we get the revenue from the workers comp claim. (Workers comp is really very messy to deal with...and it is frustrating to deal with people who have gotten hurt at work...and often times are milking it. But I always have to remember..."A patient's pain is what they say it is". They teach you that in nursing school.)
I have also been asked to train the new intern MAs (medical assistants) when they have their rotation in our clinic! I am the newest nurse at the clinic, and they want me to do all these things. That makes me feel real special.
Watch out people...STREP throat is going around. Wash your hands. It is your first line of defense. And no sharing gum.
