Registered Nurse (RN) Job Duties
The tasks registered nurses are allowed to perform are governed by state laws but their job duties are determined by their specialty and work setting. In general, registered nurses work to maintain and improve health, prevent and treat disease, and help patients deal with illness.
They provide professional nursing services such as patient assessment and progress evaluation, planning, interventions, recording symptoms or reactions to treatment and administering medications. Registered nurses may assist physicians during surgeries or examinations, manage and develop nursing care plans and educate people on how to prevent illness and improve their health. Listed below are a couple of nursing specialties and the typical job duties performed by registered nurses. This list is by no means complete but it should give you a good idea of how varied the duties of a registered nurse can be.
Critical Care Nurses (CCN) provide care for critically ill patients in critical or intensive care hospital units ( ICU/CCU ). Critical care registered nurses require specialized training and serve patients such as those who experienced multiple trauma, cardiovascular or pulmonary failure or extensive surgeries. They assist physicians with inserting catheters or chest tubes and performing procedures such as intubations. Critical care nurses use equipment such as cardiac monitors, multi-line infusion pumps, blood pressure monitors and defibrillators. They are also responsible for cleaning, feeding, medicating and observing the one or two patients in their care.
Labor and Delivery Registered Nurses care for women who are in labor, have pregnancy complications requiring hospitalization or have recently delivered. They provide emotional support to patients and their families and develop an individualized plan of care for each mother and baby. They teach patients about women's health, newborn care and other related topics. Labor and delivery registered nurses monitor the mother and baby, implement a plan of care, evaluate its effectiveness and modify it as needed.
Operating Room Nurses are healthcare workers who provide care for patients before, during, and after a surgical procedure. Operating room nurses prepare supplies, instruments and equipment, maintain a sterile environment in the operating room, and monitor the patient's vital signs, temperature and position during surgery. They may also be responsible for selecting and handling supplies or instruments used during surgery, keeping inventory of all of the items used during the operation and assisting the surgeon in controlling bleeding or suturing. Other responsibilities may include maintaining records and keeping the patient's family updated on developments during surgery.
Neonatal Registered Nurses work in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) or nurseries. Neonatal nurses working in mother-baby or newborn nurseries care for healthy newborns and their mothers. NICU nurses care for premature infants or acutely ill neonates. They monitor vital signs, fluid and oxygen levels, clean, feed and medicate the neonates, administer intravenous therapy and use special equipment such as ventilators and incubators.
School Nurses develop and support health policies, procedures and standards for a student body. They provide limited on-site care for students, maintain immunization and health records, monitor the compliance of school health programs with state and local laws and provide health and disease prevention guidelines. They may prepare health reports for various bodies, provide first aid care, and maintain health supplies. School nurses are also responsible for identifying health disorders among students and referring students to other health professionals when needed.
It is a good idea to consult your professors, nursing advisors, preceptors and other people working in the healthcare industry for advice in choosing a nursing specialty. Nursing jobs can be very challenging and it's not always easy to change your specialty once you start working. Furthermore, you may find out that you are physically or mentally unable to perform certain things and you should plan your career accordingly.
Nursing Advice, Tips and Resources
Why You Should Consider Working as a Travel Nurse | New Graduate Nurses Working in the ICU | Medical Surgical Nursing | Night Shift Nurses | Tips for Helping Nurses Get Enough Sleep | Foreign Educated Registered Nurses | What You Should Know About the Boards of Nursing | What Makes a Workplace Better than Another for Nurses? | Florida Nursing Programs | What to Do When a Patient Requires Extra Confidentiality? | About the Influence of Ethics on Nurse Retention | NCLEX Practice Questions | Financial Aid for Nursing Students | Online Nursing Schools and Programs | Why Become a Nurse? | How to Study and Review for the NCLEX Examination | Online Master Degree Programs in Nursing | Neonatal Nursing Jobs | Free College Scholarships
