-  More new jobs are expected to be created for registered nurses than for any other occupation

 -  Job opportunities are expected to be very good

Kind of Work You Can Expect

Promote health, prevent disease, and help patients cope with illness;
Advocate and educate patients, families and, communities on health issues;

Provide direct patient care by observing, assessing, and recording symptoms, reactions and progress;

Assist physicians and other health care providers during treatments and examinations;

Administer medications;

Assist in convalescence and rehabilitations;

Develop and manage nursing care plans;

Administer local, inhalation, intravenous, and other anesthetics;

Order, interpret, and evaluate diagnostic tests to identify and assess patient's condition;

Prepare rooms, sterile instruments, equipment and supplies, and hand items to the surgeon;

Prescribe or recommend drugs or other forms of treatment, such as physical therapy,

inhalation therapy, or related therapeutic procedures;

Contract independently to render nursing care, usually to one patient, in hospital or private home;

Provide prenatal and postnatal care to obstetrical patients under supervision of obstetrician or nurse-midwife

   
Job Outlook

Job opportunities for RN’s are expected to be very good. Employment of registered   
nurses is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2012, 
and because the occupation is very large, many new jobs will result. In fact, more 
new jobs are expected be created for RN’s than for any other occupation. Thousands 
of job openings also will result from the need to replace experienced nurses who 
leave the occupation, especially as the median age of the registered nurse population 
continues to rise.

Earnings  

Source: http://stats.bls.gov/oes291111.htm

Skills Needed

Oral and written expression: Ability to communicate information and ideas verbally
and in writing so others will understand.
 
Communication Skills:  Know various communication methods to give and obtain
information to clients and coworkers.  Can obtain and record client information using
appropriate terminology.
 

Organizational Skills:  Understand “Big Picture”: Understand how role fits in with
the department, the setting, and overall health care environment.  Aware of how
reimbursement affects care delivery.  Prevent unnecessary waste and duplication. 
Understand legal responsibilities, limitations and implications of their individual
actions within health care delivery.  Understand and accept ethical practices with
respect to cultural, social and ethnic differences.  Perform duties within established
ethical guidelines supporting sensitive and quality health care delivery.
 

Team Work Skills:  Practice team membership skills, such as cooperation, leadership,
and listening.  Respect cultural and religious differences of team members.  Be
aware of the implications of the health care hierarchy in interacting with other. 
Manage conflict within the work place through consideration of others points of
views.  Respect inter- and intra-disciplinary issues.
 

Customer Service Orientation:  Listen effectively to clients’ concerns.  Adequately  
respond to client questions and fears.  Determine clients’ ability to understand.  Use
language appropriate to the situation.  Use facility guidelines for giving health care
information.  Respect clients’ cultural differences.
 

Decision Making and Problem Solving:  Ability to tell when something is wrong or is
likely to go wrong.  Ability to weigh relative costs and benefits of potential action.
 

Time Management:  Understand the principles and techniques of resource
management.  Can organize own work and assignments.  Ensure careful use of
available resources to make timely decisions which meet or exceed client
expectations.  Work to contain costs and reduce waste.  Practice time management
and quality service delivery simultaneously.

Technical Skills You Will Need To Develop 

·    Safety Practices:  Use Standard Precautions to control the spread of infection.  Apply principles of body mechanics, such as proper lifting techniques.
 

·     Health Care Terminology:  Know and apply health care terminology.
 

·   Legal Responsibilities:  Knowledge of legal responsibilities, limitations, and implications of actions within health care delivery.  Understanding of laws, regulations, policies, and legislated rights of clients.
 

·     Ethics:  Knowledge of established ethical guidelines.
 

·    Medicine:  Knowledge of information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat injuries, diseases, and deformities.  This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions.
 

·    Health Maintenance Practices:  Understand fundamentals of wellness and the treatment of disease processes.  Encourage practice of preventive health behaviors among clients.
 

·    Intrateam Communication:  Understand how to communicate within a team.  Convey critical client information to appropriate team members in a timely manner.
 

·    Diagnostic Planning & Preparation:  Understand the components and implications of requests for procedures.  Read the request for services, and plan when and how to implement the services.  Know the steps of procedural set-ups and prepare supplies, equipment, and client for procedures, according to facility protocol.
 

·     Diagnostic Procedure, Evaluation, & Reporting:  Know the logic and sequence of the procedure, including alternative methods.  Understand principles of quality assurance.  Understand need for precise, accurate, and timely reporting.  Produce and report results using appropriate communication channels.

      Sections of source is from THE CHRONICLE TELEGRAM, Elyria, OH, April 14, 1999 issue.