A Day in the Life of an Outpatient Neurology Nurse

What I do on a daily basis as Neuro Nurse

Curious about the daily life of an outpatient neurology nurse? Read on to discover their essential roles and responsibilities! I live in the state of New York. I have been a neurology nurse for three years now. First, let me tell you I love the neurology specialty. While I was in the nursing program, and even when I finished, I never really knew which specialty I would like to go into and never made a decision. I am sure some of you who are in the nursing program right now might feel the same. I would like to let you know that is perfectly okay. It’s ok not to know as you will discover where your interest lies as you get experience in different fields of nursing. If you’re a new nurse who is interested in outpatient nursing or an experienced nurse who is burnt out from bedside nursing, let me take you through what I do as an outpatient neurology nurse.

About the neurology practice

I work in a private neurology practice. In this practice, there are 10 board certified neurologists. The neurologists treat and diagnose disorders that affect the brain, spinal cord and peripheral nervous. They diagnose and treat conditions such as migraines, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, peripheral neuropathy, dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP), ALS, back pain, post-COVID-19 syndrome, strokes, tumors, and more.

In our practice, we have three nurses, each assigned to work with three to four neurologists. The nurses act as a bridge between patients and doctors, facilitating communication. After the neurologists see the patients, I follow up on their care and needs. I’ll provide more details on this later. Patients visiting our office will benefit from same-day diagnostic evaluation as the office has in-house physical therapy department, MRI department, and an infusion center. My job includes tasks in both the MRI department and the infusion center, along with other roles and responsibilities which I’ll explain further below.

My role as an outpatient neurology nurse isn’t what you might typically expect or what I initially thought it would be. I imagined I would be checking in patients, taking vital signs, gathering their medical history, and assisting doctors with tests. Instead, it’s much more varied. While it’s hard to pinpoint everything I do, I’ll do my best to give you an idea of my daily activities.

Nursing desk duties

This is a Monday to Friday 8-hour job. We use an electronic health record software system in which we can access patient information, refill requests from pharmacies, and much more. We receive calls throughout the day and we call the patients back and address their concerns and needs. These calls consume a considerable amount of our time, as we carefully work to address each inquiry. When I mention “addressing” calls, I mean communicating important patient needs to the doctors, especially if a patient is unwell. This may involve updating the doctor on a patient’s condition, which could lead to adjustments in medication—either increasing or decreasing dosages based on the patient’s feedback.

Documentation is a critical aspect of our role as nurses. Accurately recording each interaction and patient update ensures continuity of care and allows for informed decision-making by the medical team .Additionally, our daily tasks include obtaining medication authorizations from insurance companies, sending referrals for home health services as ordered by the doctors, and completing various forms for patients as needed.

Since I work in an office setting, some quick advice I would like to give to nurses and others who spend a lot of time on the computer is to use support to help prevent pain in your wrist and elbow. You will be less likely to get carpel tunnel syndrome-a neurological problem (A numbness and tingling in the hand and arm caused by a pinched nerve in the wrist from long-term wrist injury) if you use the wrist support. To prevent carpel tunnel syndrome, please use a mouse pad, keyboard support and, for elbow support, use elbow rest cushioning support. I had terrible pain in my wrist and arm from the constant typing on the computer when I started working. I recommend this mouse pad, keyboard support and elbow rest, see link below at a very good price on Amazon. I have been using these for over a year and I have had no pain ever since I started using these for support.

Keeping your desk organized. Keeping your workspace organized can boost productivity and reduce stress. A desk organizer helps keep essential items within reach, minimizing clutter.

If you spend long hours standing or sitting, consider using a footrest. This can help improve circulation and reduce fatigue. Look for an adjustable footrest for better comfort.

Staying hydrated is crucial for maintaining energy levels throughout the day. A reusable water bottle with time markers can remind you to drink water regularly.

Nursing Skills duties

You might think this looks like a desk job only, and where are we using our nursing skills? Well, we have a part of the job where we get to use our nursing skills. We have an infusion center where we do infusions such as Tysabri, which is given for treatment of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients. We give IV medications such as SoluMedrol and Toradol for migraines or Zofran for nausea when ordered by a doctor.

Furthermore, we set up patients for intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) with other outpatient centers. Another task we do throughout the day is IV contrast. Since we have same day diagnostic testing at the facility, we have an MRI department where the IV contrast is done when ordered by the doctors. In the beginning, doing IVs was my biggest fear, but understand that you will become an expert sooner than later when you do it daily. Often, you will not get a chance to practice and put in an IV in a patient when you’re in nursing school. I took an IV course when I started this job, which was helpful because if you have never inserted an IV then it is best that you take a IV class. Though, mostly you learn when you’re training and when you actually start placing IVs in patients yourself, that is when you start feeling confident on your IV skills. I absolutely love doing IVs now, it is actually exciting. The doctors will also call and ask us to do an injection for a patient with migraines. We mostly administer migraine injections and provide patient education, so the patient can continue to do the injections themselves at home. Thus, this part of the job we get to use our nursing skills.

In conclusion

I have learned a lot about different neurology conditions working as a neurology nurse. It is pleasing to help patients and their families understand the condition and help to cope with their conditions. When patients are diagnosed with a neurological disorder such as Parkinson’s disease (PD) or multiple sclerosis (MS) this significantly impacts them and their families’ lives. It’s difficult to see patients struggling with these conditions since there is really no cure for conditions such as PD and dementia, but treatment is available to help relieve symptoms and maintain the quality of life. So, it’s satisfying to see patient’s improvement when they follow the medication regimen provided by the neurologist. Nurses in outpatient neurology play a vital role in following up, advising patients/families regarding patient’s conditions, communicating their needs and concerns with the neurologists.

P.S if you haven’t already checked out my other blogs click on the links below:

My journey to becoming a Registered Nurse in New York (nurseamani.com)

My First Job as a Nursing Supervisor in Assisted Living # (nurseamani.com)

A day in the life of an outpatient Neurology Nurse – nurseamani