What Is The Job Description (What Do They Do) Registered Nurse

photograph of a smiling nurse in scrubs standing in front of a patient

FromScrubstoNurse JackietoChicago Med, you've seen nurses portrayed multiple times on TV. Sure, they wear scrubs, requite shots and carry stethoscopes around their necks, but what does a registered nurse do, exactly? More than y'all might recall!

These multi-tasking caregivers are masters at juggling many important nursing duties to care for their patients and support other providers. Registered nurse (RN) jobs offering variety, career stability and a sense of personal fulfillment. With positives similar these, information technology's no wonder yous're interested in pursuing this profession.

What'south more is that registered nurse jobs are projected to increment at the much-faster-than-average rate of 12 percent through 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).^one That growth coupled with the above-average earning potential—a 2019 median annual wage of $73,300, co-ordinate to the BLS—makes an RN career especially enticing.^ane

Merely what is an RN exactly and what do they do on a daily basis? Go along reading for a amend understanding of the typical nursing responsibilities.

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A closer expect at the registered nurse chore description

It'due south truthful that nurses' duties vary greatly depending on the healthcare setting they piece of work in. It may come up every bit a surprise to some, but registered nurses are non limited to working in hospitals. RN nurses can also work in in clinics, schools, assisted living facilities, homes and more. They can also specialize in areas such as cardiac care, pediatrics, family practise, geriatrics, labor and delivery, and emergency nursing.

Nevertheless, there are some general RN duties you tin look regardless of employer. Hither are some tasks that can be found in a typical registered nurse job description:

Administering medications to patients and monitoring for reactions or side effects
Recording and updating patient medical data and vital signs, maintaining detailed and authentic reports
Consulting and coordinating with other members of the healthcare squad to plan, implement and evaluate patient intendance plans
Educating patients and family members on treatments and care plans

It's also important for RNs to stay up-to-date with new tools and technologies to help provide the all-time intendance for patients and provide the best support for other providers.

In order to carry out these of import duties, nurses must have a well-rounded balance of technical and soft skills. Many precise technical skills are needed to provide loftier quality care for patients. But aside from that, at that place are several transferrable skills the best nurses share. In social club to excel in registered nurse jobs, y'all must possess first-class communication, emotional intelligence, teamwork, problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.

Exploring registered nursing job environments

Every bit mentioned before, RN nurses can provide care in a variety of healthcare settings. A registered nurse's job clarification can vary quite a chip depending on the surroundings and specialty they're in. To aid yous sympathize how those nurse responsibilities can differ, nosotros broke it down into 4 common work environments. Compare and contrast to discover the correct healthcare setting for you.

What does a registered nurse practise in a hospital?

Working in a hospital is what comes to about people's minds when they think of nursing—and for expert reason. The BLS reports that in 2018, lx percent of registered nurses worked in hospitals.ⁱ Examples of RN nurses you might observe in a hospital include cardiac care nurses, nurse managers, perioperative nurses and labor and delivery nurses.

Infirmary nurses typically outset their day with a study from the departing shift to go up-to-speed with any updates, from admissions and discharges to patients whose conditions may have improved or worsened. Side by side comes the count of medications, then patient assessments, which generally includes vitals and a medical evaluation.

In a infirmary setting, yous never know what you'll see. So any time during these normal rounds yous could be interrupted to handle emergencies, such as a patient coding or in arrest, a new admission or another urgent event.

Hospital RNs also administer medication, change dressings and document care in patients' records. And considering hospitals operate effectually the clock, these nurses may be expected to work long shifts, including overnight or on weekends and holidays.

What does a registered nurse do in a clinic?

For nurses working in a clinic, they typically arrive earlier the physician to set up for the day's appointments. This may include getting exam tables fix, checking otoscope and ophthalmoscope lights, turning on computers and getting charts prepared for the day.

Clinic work revolves around appointments, then a nurse's schedule will vary depending on how many patients are scheduled to visit. A slow day may have a nurse seeing 15 patients, while a busy 24-hour interval might include xxx or more. After a patient is checked in, the nurse is notified and typically begins the exam by checking pinnacle, weight and other vitals.

The nurse and so gathers details of the patient'southward injury or illness. Information technology's their duty to pass that data along to the doctor. Later patients meet with the physician, dispensary nurses handle follow-upwards tests or procedures such as vaccinations, X-rays and scheduling meetings with specialists.

Dispensary nurses typically intendance for patients with non-life-threatening injuries, so the piece of work is not as fast-paced. They can as well expect to work more predictable shifts during regular business organisation hours.

What does a registered nurse do in disquisitional care?

Critical care, also known as intensive care, involves treating patients with life-threatening conditions who are in need of abiding care. Nurses who piece of work in critical care may have the title of trauma nurse, ICU nurse or neonatal intensive intendance unit (NICU) nurse.

Critical intendance nurses' responsibilities include caring for dying patients, inserting life-saving IVs and injections, and educating families on problems such every bit life support and caring for people with brain injuries. They treat patients who take been in severe accidents, suffered strokes, experienced trauma or who have life-threatening illnesses.

Critical care nurses often intendance for patients who are intubated, ventilated or have multiple IV drips at a time. This requires knowledge of more equipment than nurses who exercise in lower-stakes environments. They also by and large accept fewer patients under their care at a fourth dimension, considering each individual requires more than attending and documentation.

These types of registered nurse jobs call for individuals who can continue their cool in loftier-stress situations and apply disquisitional thinking skills in a fast-paced environment. Empathy and interpersonal skills are also imperative because you'll frequently interact with family members who are distraught about the status of their loved ones.

What does a registered nurse do in ambulatory care?

Ambulatory care is the term applied to nurses who take care of patients outside of infirmary settings. These include outpatient facilities, such every bit same-solar day surgery centers, rehabilitation centers and home hospice.

Examples of RN nurses who work in convalescent intendance settings are: dialysis nurses, telehealth nurses and palliative care nurses. Because convalescent intendance nurses can be specialists or generalists, they have a variety of duties.

Hospice is one of the most common convalescent intendance services available, with 1.49 million Medicare beneficiaries receiving hospice intendance in 2017.²Some common duties for hospice nurses include providing care, ensuring proper medications are ordered, conducting assessments to make sure the patient is safe and comfortable, managing durable medical equipment orders and educating patients and family members on medications and side effects.

A hospice or rehabilitation setting allows nurses to form strong relationships with their patients, getting to know them and their loved ones over an extended period of time. On the other hand, a nurse in a surgery centre volition interact with new patients each day. Equally you tin can tell, duties will vary drastically depending on the type of ambulatory care you're providing.

A career built on caring

So what does a registered nurse do? Y'all've probably discovered that the answer isn't quite as simple as you may have thought. RN nurses are an integral office of a support system that requires them to vesture many hats—from working with new engineering science to educating patients and providing life-saving procedures. Even so, all RNs have plenty of common qualities: They must be critical thinkers, problem-solvers and perceptive of patient needs—even unspoken ones.

RNs are a valuable and irreplaceable role of whatever healthcare ecosystem. In club to fulfill the registered nurse job description, you must have intelligence and avant-garde training, but likewise compassion and attentive care. Are you lot considering pursuing the fast-paced and rewarding piece of work of nursing? Larn more about what it'll accept in our article, "How to Become a Registered Nurse: Your Step-past-Stride Guide."

^aneBureau of Labor Statistics, U.Due south. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, [career information accessed July 2020]. www.bls.gov/ooh/. Information represents national, averaged data for the occupations listed and includes workers at all levels of educational activity and feel. This data does non represent starting salaries. Employment conditions in your area may vary.
²Facts and Figures: Hospice Care in America, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organisation, 2019 edition. https://www.nhpco.org/nhpco-releases-updated-edition-of-hospice-facts-and-figures-report/ [accessed July 2020]

EDITOR'S NOTE: This commodity was originally published in 2014. It has since been updated to include information relevant to 2020.