Registered Nurse Health Article

Definition

Registered nurses, or RNs, are health care professionals who work as part of health care teams to promote health and prevent and treat disease. They are patient advocates and health care educators working to teach not only patients but also families and the community.

Description

With about 2.1 million positions in the field, RNs make up the largest health care occupation. More than half of all health professions students are nursing students, and there are four times as many RNs in the United States as physicians. Most nurses as of 2001 are women; only 5-7% of all nurses are men.

Nurses work collaboratively with physicians and other health care providers, although the nursing profession is independent of medicine and other health disciplines. RNs' roles span from direct patient care to case management. Nurses are an integral part of the health care system. In fact, most health care services involve nursing care in some form.

In the area of direct patient care, RNs have many responsibilities:

• They observe, assess, and record patients' symptoms, responses to treatment, and progress.
• They provide assistance to physicians and other health care providers during examinations and treatments.
• They administer medications and take vital signs.
• They help patients to rehabilitate and heal.
• They educate patients and families about appropriate care after treatment, as well as long-term health.
• They develop and manage plans for nursing care.

In hospitals, RNs often work as staff nurses, providing care at the bedside and managing patients' medical needs. In some cases, RNs in hospitals supervise licensed practical nurses and aides.

RNs who work in office settings, for physicians or in clinics, assist administratively in the office and help the medical staff with patient preparation and examination. They administer medications, perform some lab tests and injections, as well as dress wounds and incisions. RNs also assist with minor surgery techniques and record-taking.

Nurses in the nursing home setting provide a variety of care to elderly or sickly patients who cannot care for themselves because of age or illness. RNs in nursing home settings spend a good deal of their time developing treatment plans and performing other administrative duties, including supervising LPNs and nursing aides. They also provide direct patient care, assessing residents' medical conditions, monitoring treatment, and performing more advanced tasks, such as starting intravenous fluids. Nurses in this setting might concentrate on an area of specialization, such as long-term rehabilitation, in which they would care for stroke and head injury patients.

Home health nurses are often RNs who provide periodic at-ome care for patients who might be recovering from illness or suffering from a chronic condition. While home health nurses work independently during their time in the home, the care they provide is prescribed by a physician or nurse practitioner.

RNs in public health nursing work in a variety of government and community organizations, including as school nurses and in public health clinics. The focus in this area of nursing is to make health care accessible to populations, including the underserved and those in rural areas. The goal is to improve overall health care in a community. Public health nurses work with community members to plan and implement programs to enhance community health care and educate groups about good health practices, such as disease prevention, child care and nutrition. They work in partnership with families, schools and other public organizations to help educate members about health. And these RNs make arrangements for such health screenings as immunizations and blood pressure and cholesterol testing.

Occupational health or industrial nurses provide health care services on-site in different environments. These nurses might work at a company's headquarters providing nursing care to employees or at a resort providing nursing care to tourists. RNs in this environment provide emergency care, prepare accident reports and make arrangements for any necessary additional care. Especially in the employee environment, they might coordinate health screenings, health counseling and assess work environments for safety.

In 1998, RNs' median annual income was $40,690. The median income that year of RNs working in hospitals was $39,900; home health care services $39,200; offices and clinics run by MDs $36,500; and nursing and personal care facilities $36,3000.

The job market has been changing for RNs, making them more in demand. Much of this growth in opportunity is due to changing demographics. As more people become elderly, more will need nursing care and many more will need long-term care. The expansion of managed care has led to an increased emphasis on primary care. Another factor in the growth of the need for RNs is advancing technology, which requires the knowledge of RN or higher-level nurses. Essentially, the world is open to RNs because of opportunity and need now and in the future.