Many registered nurses are involved in providing direct patient care. However, their work might also include a variety of other duties. For example, they may present health information to large groups of people, perform urgent procedures in an emergency department, manage and instruct 100 other nurses in a large teaching hospital, or teach and do research at a university.

Their work with patients can be divided into four general duties. First, they assess patients' physical, mental, and emotional health status. This involves collecting information on patients' personal, family, and community background; taking blood pressure, temperature, and other vital signs; and performing basic physical exams.

Next, nurses help design and carry out treatment plans for patients. This could mean bandaging a wound, giving medications or injections, coordinating treatments with other health care professionals, or referring a patient to another caregiver.

Third, nurses monitor the results of treatments to see if the medical problem has been taken care of and to make sure that the patient is satisfied. Finally, nurses keep patients and their families informed about their medical options and educate them about health issues like nutrition, personal hygiene, and lifestyle choices.

Nurses also maintain records, such as patients' charts, and supervise licensed practical nurses and other health support staff.

Nurses have many options. They can choose to specialize in certain areas, such as surgery (assisting in the operating room), pediatrics (working with children), critical care (working in the intensive care unit), psychiatric nursing (working with the mentally ill), or geriatrics (working with older people). Nurses can work with individuals, families, or communities.

SOURCE: CAREER CRUISINGS