As promised I obtained a per-diem job in a hospital. I currently work as a per-diem unit clerk in a hospital and although it doesn't give me the hands on patient care experience that I was looking for like a PCT, it has allowed me to get an in depth look at how a nursing unit functions as well as entry into healthcare (not to mention the daily drama nurses deal with). Right now I only work a couple of days a week which is doable for me this semester (in the summer there was no way in hell I could even work 1 day a week) and I hope that when the time comes to start applying for my first RN job I will get first "crack" at jobs in the hospital or even elsewhere. The pay, while a lot less than my previous job (and certainly less than that of an RN) is actually not that bad and it allows me to not put all of our expenses on hubby.
So what is a unit clerk anyway? A unit clerk or unit secretary is a person that deals with the "administrative" aspect of a nursing unit, such as answering phones, contacting physicians or other health care personnel (respiratory, pharmacy, etc.), organizing patient records as well patient tracking. Depending on the unit or hospital there may be additional functions; in smaller facilities some clerks are crossed-trained as PCT's. Is the unit clerk position difficult? In my opinion it isn't but you do need to have decent communication skills, some knowledge of medical terminology and equipment and be able to follow directions relatively well. You should also be able to work in a fast-paced environment. In essence your job is to make the nurses' job easier by doing mundane tasks so that they can actually have time to care for their patients and be nurses. Do some nurses take advantage of clerks? Sure but I don't care as long as I am doing tasks that are in my job description. My goal is to be the best unit clerk I can be so that when my time comes, I have lots of people who can vouch for my work ethics and be a reference for me.
