Registered Nurse Job Description (Salary, Duties, Skills, Certification & More)

This article will discuss everything that you need to know about a registered nurse. We will cover the following topics:

  1. Who is a Registered Nurse?
  2. Duties and Responsibilities of a Registered Nurse
  3. Skills requirement by a Registered Nurse
  4. Certification required by a Registered Nurse
  5. The lifestyle of a Registered Nurse 
Registered Nurse Job Description

Who is a Registered Nurse?

A Registered Nurse is a nurse who has graduated from a nursing program and all the requirements outlined by a country, state, province, or similar government authorized licensing body to obtain a nursing license. They provide hands-on care in different medical and community settings which include hospitals, doctor’s clinics or offices, and nursing homes. They hold a diploma or Associated Degree in Nursing.

They are multitasking caregivers who master juggling many important duties and responsibilities to care for their patients and support other providers. A Registered Nurse’s job offers career stability and a sense of personal fulfillment. It is a great profession to pursue if you are interested in the field of health and medications.

Duties and Responsibilities of Registered Nurse

  1. Assists physicians and multidisciplinary team members, implement physicians’ orders, performing treatments, procedures, and special tests.
  2. Contribute to team effort by accomplishing related as needed and consulting and coordinating with other health care team members to plan, implement, and evaluate patients’ care plans.
  3. Monitor side effects (if any) of the health care plan given to the patient.
  4. Maintains nursing supplies inventory by checking stock to determine inventory level.
  5. Interpret and evaluate diagnostic tests to identify and assess patients’ conditions.
  6.  Educate patients and their family members on treatments and care plans designed by the doctor.
  7. Records and Updates patients’ medical information and vital signs, maintaining detailed and accurate reports.
  8. Provide basic care and comfort to the patients by offering them different kinds of therapy.
  9. Control safety and infection.
  10. Getting patients ready for examinations or treatments and making assessments based on the results.
  11. Provide emergency and primary care for occupational and non-occupational injuries and illness.
  12. Direct and guide ancillary personnel.
  13. Maintain standards of professional nursing by maintaining patients’ confidence and protects operations by keeping information confidential.
  14. Read and interpret patients’ reports and research ways to improve the healthcare process and improve patient outcomes.
  15. Perform administering duties like medications, collecting patients’ health history, observing and recording patients’ behavior, etc.

To sum it up, a Registered Nurse cares for patients by monitoring them, consulting with healthcare providers, administering medications and supplies, recording, maintaining and updating patients’ records and educating patients and their families on the disease and its treatment.

Skills Required by a Registered Nurse

Sense of understanding and compassion

To provide comfort to the patients and their families, a kind and compassionate attitude is necessary to be sympathetic and non-judgemental towards all the patients. This will help them help patients in coping up with anxiety and misunderstandings, so that they can better understand the treatment process.

Communication skills

To demonstrate those documents and reports of the patients’ one needs to have good communication skills so that the other person can understand what they have to say as they bridge the gap between the doctor and the patient. Communication skills are essential for good interaction.

Critical Thinking Skills

A Registered Nurse must have critical assessment skills combined with problem-solving skills to make decisions as they have to deal with so many patients. They should be able to take quick actions and analyze, review, and judge different situations they face with different patients to take the right actions using their critical thinking skills.

Organizing skills

They should possess this skill as they care for multiple patients and take care of their records and perform multiple tasks. So, it is important to have these skills to keep everything running smoothly and function at its best rates.

Other Skills

  • Bedside manner
  • Physiological knowledge
  • Clinical skills
  • Infection control skills
  • Emotional stability and patience
  • Attention to detail
  • Multitasking skills
  • Listening skills
  • Medical Teamwork Skills
  • Administering Medications
  • Health Promotion and Maintenance skills
  • Problem-solving skills
  • Time management skills

Certifications Required by Registered Nurse

  1. Registered Nurse License [RN]
  2. Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Nursing
  3. Associate Degree in Nursing, or
  4. A diploma in Nursing

Along with the certifications, a registered nurse also needs to pass an exam to get the license, this exam is the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses or the National Council of State Boards of Nursing.  

The Lifestyle of a Registered Nurse

Each registered nurse has different lifestyles according to the medical background they come from. In terms of salary and the way of living, it depends on the education and the years of experience one has in a particular field. With better education and better years of experience, you have better chances of having a luxurious life in this field. A nursing job comes with enormous rewards.

However, a nursing job demands so many sacrifices as sometimes you may into works for hours and hours non-stop and even over your working hours. Nurses are always on duty and are always found multitasking and juggling between different duties at the same time. Most of the nurses have a fairly varies schedule, a day in the life of a nurse can include different duties on the end of each nurse.

Their daily duties may include taking patient vital signs and measurements and recording medical history, drawing blood samples, asking patients about their symptoms, educating them on their conditions, and recommending them the sources of support. They engage in setting up treatment rooms, changing dressings, and sanitizing and assembling medical equipment. They are mostly found interacting with patients and doctors. These duties can differ with each day as they perform so many duties that listing just a few of them can be an understatement.

However, the type of health care settings one works in will affect a registered nurse’s routine and duties. Even the hours of working depending on the setting itself.

Conclusion

So, that was all you needed to know about a Registered Nurse. To sum it up, a registered nurse needs to have a number of skills to be a great registered nurse and the pay rate depends on the level of experience, educational background, and geographic location. Registered nurses are high in demand and therefore the pay in this field is quite good. So, if you are thinking to be a part of this field, then we would suggest you go for it. I hope this article was informative and you enjoyed reading this. Comment below and share this article with your friends.

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References

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