What Do Registered Nurses Do (including Their Typical Day At Work)

Job Description

Registered Nurses assess patient health problems and needs, develop and implement nursing care plans, and maintain medical records. Administer nursing care to ill, injured, convalescent, or disabled patients. May advise patients on health maintenance and disease prevention or provide case management. Licensing or registration required. They also maintain accurate, detailed reports and records.

Other tasks include:

• Administer medications to patients and monitor patients for reactions or side effects.
• Record patients’ medical information and vital signs.
• Monitor, record, and report symptoms or changes in patients’ conditions.
• Inform physician of patient’s condition during anesthesia.
• Administer local, inhalation, intravenous, or other anesthetics.
• Consult and coordinate with healthcare team members to assess, plan, implement, or evaluate patient care plans.

We asked Registered Nurses how satisfied they are with their job. Here is what they said.

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71% of them said they were satisfied with their job and 80% said they find that their job makes the world a better place or helps to make someone else’s life better.

Typical Day At Work

On a daily basis, Registered Nurses perform administrative or managerial functions, such as taking responsibility for a unit’s staff, budget, planning, or long-range goals. They maintain accurate, detailed reports and records.

A typical day for a Registered Nurse will also include:

• Record patients’ medical information and vital signs.
• Observe nurses and visit patients to ensure proper nursing care.
• Prepare rooms, sterile instruments, equipment, or supplies and ensure that stock of supplies is maintained.
• Work with individuals, groups, or families to plan or implement programs designed to improve the overall health of communities.
• Consult and coordinate with healthcare team members to assess, plan, implement, or evaluate patient care plans.

We asked some Registered Nurses a few questions to find out what else does their work day look like. Here is what we found.

	Do you have telephone conversations everyday in this job?	99% said yes
	How important is it to work in a team in this job?	74% said very important
	Do you have group discussions everyday in this job?	82% said yes
	Do you talk or work with customers everyday in this job?	66% said yes
	Do you have to deal with angry customers everyday in this job?	24% said yes
	Do you have to make decisions everyday in this job?	88% said yes

Other responsibilities

Besides their typical day, Registered Nurses also refer students or patients to specialized health resources or community agencies furnishing assistance. They may also prescribe or recommend drugs, medical devices, or other forms of treatment, such as physical therapy, inhalation therapy, or related therapeutic procedures.

On a weekly to monthly basis, Registered Nurses Provide or arrange for training or instruction of auxiliary personnel or students. They might also Assess the needs of individuals, families, or communities, including assessment of individuals’ home or work environments, to identify potential health or safety problems.

In addition, they Consult with institutions or associations regarding issues or concerns relevant to the practice and profession of nursing.

Although specific duties may vary, many of them Hand items to surgeons during operations.

To some Registered Nurses, it is also their responsibility to Perform physical examinations, make tentative diagnoses, and treat patients en route to hospitals or at disaster site triage centers.

Working life

Standard 40 hour work week

Regular schedule like a 9 to 5

In a typical work week as a Registered Nurse, you can expect to work 40 hour work week.

Is this right for me

People who are suitable for this job tends to like working with, communicating with, and teaching people. They like helping or providing service to others..

They also like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

You can read more about these career personality types here.

Explore other careers

http://www.bls.gov/OOH/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm

http://www.aacn.nche.edu/

http://www.nursingworld.org/

http://www.nln.org/