Nurses' perceptions of providing advice via a telephone care line

The provision of advice over the telephone in the health service has become more common in the Western world and in Sweden this task is allocated to nurses. There are several million calls a year to the medical care telephone helpline. Nurses answer the calls, provide advice and direct the flow of patients to the most appropriate treatment level. The aim of this study was to describe how nurses perceive their job of providing telephone advice to patients. Interviews with 12 nurses were analyzed using a phenomenographic approach. The nurses perceived their work as stimulating, autonomous and challenging. They also felt exposed because extensive knowledge is required and there is a risk of being criticized, as they are in a front-line position. Nurses who are responsive, determined and not anxious about their prestige can carry out the work well, provided they have a good level of self-awareness. Personal qualities and the confidence of superiors make even an exposed position with considerable requirements manageable.