Registered Nurses Must Complete A Two Year Associate Program

Registered Nurse Job Description

In the healthcare field, registered nurses are the largest group of healthcare workers. A registered nurse job description will often vary depending on the specialty and the type of medical facility that you are working in. One thing in common with them is the registered nurse has a great deal of contact with the patient and often patient families. These nurses are the first person in the healthcare plan to realize that there are potential or existing health problems and serve to help build the bridge between the patient and the doctor.

Registered nurses offer direct supervision of nursing assistants, nursing staff assistants and volunteers. In addition, registered nurses are usually the first to do the patient evaluations for each visit. If the facility is a long term healthcare facility, registered nurses will make daily and weekly patient evaluations.

If you need an IV, the person putting it in was more than likely a registered nurse. They also will do the administering of medications. A registered nurse cannot prescribe the medicines but they can administer them following doctor's instructions.

One of the primary reasons that registered nurses are the first to notice healthcare problems is that they monitor vital signs, health progress or digressions, medication reactions and many other aspects of the patient's general health. If there are changes or complications the registered nurse will inform the doctor of the situation so that an appropriate course of treatment plan can be set up for the patient.

Many medical facilities have registered nurses doing a great deal of the patient's health care in order to maximize the time that a physician can spend with a larger number of patients. This is particularly true for emergency room hospitals and other parts of the hospital. Registered nurses will closely monitor the vital signs and write down pertinent information on patient charts for the attending physician to review. In the hospital settings, the registered nurses will supervise the CNAs and nursing volunteers.

In long term care facilities such as nursing homes and assisted living facilities the registered nurses play an extremely important role in the healthcare plans of residents. The registered nurse is the only staff that can administer medications to the residents. Daily and weekly reporting is done in each resident's patient chart for the facility doctor and private doctors to review. The registered nurse is the eyes and ears for the attending physicians and serves as the primary communicator for the resident's healthcare needs. Not only is this but the registered nurses typically the staff that meets with family members and power of attorneys to provide monthly updates on the resident.

It is understandable that registered nurses require a great deal of training. Registered nurses must complete a two year associate program and many obtain a Bachelor of Science degree. In addition, each nurse must be state board certified and maintain their certification. In the United States, registered nurses are required to attend a continuing education annually as well as attend OSHA and HIPPA educational seminars. There is a shortage of registered nurses worldwide and many, many vacancies for nurses.

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