Duties of a register nurse

They are known to be the people wearing the white clothes in the hospital. They are not generally ghosts. They all have stethoscopes around their necks. They have notebook pads where they write down their observations. Additionally they know what they are doing, why is that? They have gone through the proper training. A single mistake could cost them their careers. A registered nurse is a prominent health worker in the field of medicine. They are the link patients and health care. Being the most widely known occupation in health and medicine their duties vary, from observing the patient up close and personal, to analyzing vital signs. There is so many though generally this is what they do.

One by one let us look at the world of a registered nurse.

A registered nurse has to monitor their patient’s health by the minute. In this part of the job, observing and recording changes is the first step. They need accurate and reliable data. The records would show if the patient is recovering. If it would not be the case, the patient may need further care and may take a longer to time to recover. This is a repetitive process in their other duties. The nurse must not be able to create a mistake in their observation and records because it is a person’s life that hangs on the balance.

After making the right observation and records, a plan would come next. This would consist of the medication that the patient needs. The amount of medicine intake is crucial because too much of the same stuff may lead to an overdose. Time frequency of when the patient should take their medicine. Yet this plan is not final, it needs to be reviewed for clarification and to be approved by the supervising nurse or even by the doctor.

With the approval, they may then administer the medication. At the same time, they also monitor and record if there would be an effect on the patient. They also need to change the intravenous fluid once it run’s out. The treatment continues until the patient show signs of recovery. The amount of intake would then be less than before. When the patient is fully recovered medication may be discontinued.

Moreover a registered nurse may also administer a patient going through therapy.

During the steps of observing and recording, they also communicate with their patients. In order to write the correct information, they need to know the patient’s medical history. The records as shown in the planning process will be relayed to the supervising nurse or directly to the doctor. In the duty of communication they need to be emotionally mature and professional in their work. The blame that they get must not affect their work. Also they should relay medical conditions that may be emotionally sensitive.

To conclude, observing, recording, planning, administering, and communicating are the general duties of a registered nurse.