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What skills are required in your position as an RN on a day to day basis ?
#nursing #hospital-and-health-care
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Estelle’s Answer
I have worked with the same registered nurse for the past 21 years. She performs physical assessments and patient support. She is a patient advocate. On the daily, she assesses patients on arrival to our clinic and checks vital signs and records their reason for visit. She communicates her findings to the doctor and assists on exams when needed. She takes phone calls and triages problems. She refills medications and draws blood.
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Suzanne’s Answer
Hello Lyric,
I am so happy that you are interested in professional nursing. I worked for over 30 years in the clinical field as a research nurse working on oncology clinical trials. I have a highly specialized skill-set.
Nurses are trained as generalists and can go on to develop specialities. But for a nursing working on the general medical-surgical ward in an acute care hospital here are some of the skills needed to be used daily (in no particular order):
1. How to read and interpret a physician order. Have the skills/knowledge to know if the order is rational and appropriate. To be able to determine if there are errors in the order. Know who to speak to if there are problems (how to report).
2. Basic, highly professional patient care; how to assess vital signs, changes in vital signs that mean the patient is either improving or worsening, how to administer ordered drugs correctly and safely, how to provide physical care, comfort measures, wound care. How to start and discontinue intravenous lines. How to practice infection control. How to practice sterile care when needed. Know the precise second to call a "code blue" and how to conduct this emergency measure. (I can go on and on but hopefully you get the idea here).
3. How to operate daily within their scope of practice and the policies/procedures within their institution.
4. Assess the patient daily for how they are proceeding with the course of care and know when to offer additional support if needed and also know when to request additional support from the patient's physician. Know if social work is needed to offer emotional and practical help.
5. How to work in a team consisting of physicians, lab techs, radiology techs, LVNs, nurses aides, orderlies, maintenance staff, nursing specialists, nursing administrators, social workers, psychologists.
Precisely the skills are:
1. Understand the science of nursing and scope of practice.
2. Practice nursing science within the policies and procedures of their hospital.
3. Critical thinking: the ability to look at the patient/problems from multiple perspectives and determine a best course of action. This was perhaps the most crucial skill to acquire and develop.
4. Provide patient education and support along every step of the patient journey.
Physicians understand and study human illnesses and conditions. Nurses study and understand the human responses to both health and illness. Nursing science is all about how to improve the human condition especially when ill. How best to give drugs, how best to help people get better, how best to make people feel whole and well. Nursing requires a basic understanding of science, medicine, and pharmacology. Nursing requires a high degree of empathy.
As a clinical research nurse, I had to understand the new drugs being given, I had to follow a FDA approved research protocol, teach the patients about the protocol and what was going to happen. I gave the patients drugs never used in humans before. I monitored the patients for side effects and helped them if there were adverse reactions. I documented absolutely everything and wrote reports to the FDA. I entered required data into computer data systems. It was intense.....
I hope you receive additional responses to your question and certainly hope this answer is helpful!
Best,
Sue
I am so happy that you are interested in professional nursing. I worked for over 30 years in the clinical field as a research nurse working on oncology clinical trials. I have a highly specialized skill-set.
Nurses are trained as generalists and can go on to develop specialities. But for a nursing working on the general medical-surgical ward in an acute care hospital here are some of the skills needed to be used daily (in no particular order):
1. How to read and interpret a physician order. Have the skills/knowledge to know if the order is rational and appropriate. To be able to determine if there are errors in the order. Know who to speak to if there are problems (how to report).
2. Basic, highly professional patient care; how to assess vital signs, changes in vital signs that mean the patient is either improving or worsening, how to administer ordered drugs correctly and safely, how to provide physical care, comfort measures, wound care. How to start and discontinue intravenous lines. How to practice infection control. How to practice sterile care when needed. Know the precise second to call a "code blue" and how to conduct this emergency measure. (I can go on and on but hopefully you get the idea here).
3. How to operate daily within their scope of practice and the policies/procedures within their institution.
4. Assess the patient daily for how they are proceeding with the course of care and know when to offer additional support if needed and also know when to request additional support from the patient's physician. Know if social work is needed to offer emotional and practical help.
5. How to work in a team consisting of physicians, lab techs, radiology techs, LVNs, nurses aides, orderlies, maintenance staff, nursing specialists, nursing administrators, social workers, psychologists.
Precisely the skills are:
1. Understand the science of nursing and scope of practice.
2. Practice nursing science within the policies and procedures of their hospital.
3. Critical thinking: the ability to look at the patient/problems from multiple perspectives and determine a best course of action. This was perhaps the most crucial skill to acquire and develop.
4. Provide patient education and support along every step of the patient journey.
Physicians understand and study human illnesses and conditions. Nurses study and understand the human responses to both health and illness. Nursing science is all about how to improve the human condition especially when ill. How best to give drugs, how best to help people get better, how best to make people feel whole and well. Nursing requires a basic understanding of science, medicine, and pharmacology. Nursing requires a high degree of empathy.
As a clinical research nurse, I had to understand the new drugs being given, I had to follow a FDA approved research protocol, teach the patients about the protocol and what was going to happen. I gave the patients drugs never used in humans before. I monitored the patients for side effects and helped them if there were adverse reactions. I documented absolutely everything and wrote reports to the FDA. I entered required data into computer data systems. It was intense.....
I hope you receive additional responses to your question and certainly hope this answer is helpful!
Best,
Sue