Registered nurse is those professional nurses who are well educated and certified; hence provide training to patients on various kinds of diseases and also the public regarding the different medical conditions. They also treat patients. They also help the patient’s family to gather emotional support and give them proper advice. They also record the symptoms and medical history of the patient. They also do the diagnostics tests and also perform the analysis of the report. They can make use of medical machinery. They help the patients with rehabilitation.
Work of RN’s
A Registered nurse will teach the patients and families of these patients regarding the management of the patient’s injuries and illness. They explain home care requirements post treatment like their nutrition, diet etc. Some of these nurses also work in the field of promoting general health through educating the public regarding the warning symptoms of the disease. They also sometime run immunization clinics, public seminars on different conditions and blood drives.
They make a care plan while taking care for the patients or even at time contribute in making the plan. These plans include various activities like administering medication which includes taking care of dosages, avoiding interactions, medication, administering treatments and therapies, noting the observations and recording them, consultation with the physician and other health care doctors. They also at times guide the licensed nurses about the medication of the patient. The nurses who have advanced education and training might perform therapeutic and diagnostic activities.
The work responsibility varies as per skills of nurses. The titles and the duties of these nurses depend on their work setting or number of patients there. These nurses may have a specialty in more than one area. Mostly there are 4 ways in which one can specialize. These nurses might work on specific kind of treatment like perioperative nurses; they assist surgeons and also work in operating theatres. Nurses who do diabetes management guide the patients to manage their diabetes. These kinds of nurses specialize in certain kind of health conditions. Some nurses specialize in working of one or more than one body organ like dermatology nurses, this work with skin disease patients. Geriatric nurses who specialize with population. Many nurses also have combined specialties.
Significance of Registered nurse in healthcare industry
Many options are available for the registered nurses who want to specialize in different kinds of treatments like people suffering from various illnesses in physician’s clinic ambulatory nurses give preventive care to the patients. Few ambulatory care nurses also provide advice through tele health, video conferencing, and internet or through telephone. Critical care nurses gives care to serious patients with acute injury which requires extensive medication therapies. Trauma nurses work in hospitals having emergency departments which provide initial treatment to the patients with life threatening condition. Few of these emergency nurses also work as transport nurses who take care of the patients which are transported by aero planes or helicopters to the nearest available medical facility etc.
Most of Registered nurse work in well lighted environment. They work in comfortable work place with all latest technology of healthcare facilities. Public health and home health nurses move to patients’ house, community centers or even to schools. These nurses spend most of their time walking, stretching, bending and standing. These registered nurses have to work during nights or in holidays or weekends as the patients in nursing homes require extensive care even for 24 hours. There are many nurses who are available on phones as well who even work on short notice. The nurses who work in schools, offices work according to business hours. In 2008 20 percent of the registered nurses worked as part time.
These nurses must take care and guard themselves against the hazardous diseases as the patients whom they take care of and these patients suffer from infectious disease and harmful toxics. They should also protect themselves from radiations, chemicals used in sterilizing instruments, needle sticks and anesthetics.
There are 3 educational degree programs which are approved by nursing fraternity .i.e. bachelor, associate and diploma degree. Nurses normally join hospitals after completing the associate degree. They must then take national licensing exams in order to attain the nursing license.
A Registered nurse in general should be caring, responsible, and sympathetic and detail oriented. They keep studying and learning all their life as there is always a new progress in field of medicines.