A registered nurse (RN) is an essential healthcare employee in so many of today’s doctor’s offices and hospitals. Becoming an RN requires a great deal of compassion, schooling, and on-the-job training, but it is a role that healthcare facilities are always looking to fill.
Registered nurses can vary in specialties, but their primary goal is to treat and care for patients. They are responsible for making sure that every patient gets the direct and proper care that they need and often act as a liaison between the patient and the physician to make sure that all of their patients get the care they need.
Hospitals today are always looking for highly trained registered nurses as these healthcare professionals truly do a little bit of everything to ensure that their patients are properly cared for.
Nursing Leader Job Description
A registered nurse is an integral part of any medical team. They are there to make sure that every patient gets the direct and proper care that they need. While every registered nurse’s job can be unique, here are a few of the many day-to-day responsibilities that often occupy a registered nurse’s day:
- Identifying patient needs and implementing the necessary medical plan
- Taking vitals as needed
- Monitoring the patient, their health, and their medical plan
- Ensuring that patient care is done to the standards of their employer
- Coordinate care for every patient
- Educating patients on their health
- Drawing blood, collecting urine samples, and more
- Administering medication and shots
- Performing wound care
- Creating and evaluating patient care plans along with other members of the medical team
- Administering medication and monitoring patients for side effects
- Preparing patients for exams, treatments, and procedures
- Recording details and symptoms from a patient’s medical history
With so much on their plates every day, it is easy to see why registered nurses are seen as such an essential part of any medical facility. While RNs typically work in hospitals and physician’s offices, they are also often employed in surgical clinics, assisted living facilities, patient homes, schools, and other settings.
Medical Assistant Salaries
The responsibilities of an RN can vary, and so can the compensation that they get for this work. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2021, the median pay for a registered nurse was $77,600 per year or $37.31 per hour.
For Instance:
In 2022, most hospitals around the country have been looking for more registered nurses. In fact, the demand has become so high that RNs can take “travel nursing” jobs where they work at a different hospital for weeks at a time and can make almost double their regular pay. Here is just a sample of the many medical facilities looking to hire registered nurses right now.
- The University of Iowa Hospital is looking for registered nurses in different areas of their hospital.
- American Mobile Healthcare is looking for experienced travel nurses who have an RN and who are willing to travel around the country as they work.
- Middlesex Health in Connecticut has available registered nurse jobs in a variety of locations and specialties. These jobs include traditional RN roles, midwife jobs, clinical nursing positions, and more.
Because registered nurses do so much in hospital settings, there is always a growing demand for more of these individuals, making it an easy job to find opportunities in.
Training and Requirements
If you want to become an RN, you will need to first get a degree. The most common degree to become an RN is bachelor’s degree, but you can also get your RN with an associate degree, which takes less time and money. However, most RNs choose to get their full bachelor’s because it offers more training and allows for higher earning potential.
It takes about 120 hours to get a Bachelor of Science in nursing. Individuals who already have a non-nursing bachelor’s degree can apply for a direct-entry program which will take less time as it does not require any general education programs.
There are certain hospitals that are now offering “diploma programs” as well to help educate individuals interested in becoming nurses. This is typically a three-year program done right through a hospital, and while they are rare, these programs typically lead to a job upon graduation.
After obtaining an education, all registered nurses must pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) no matter where they plan to work in the future. The exam is pass/fail. Keep in mind certain states may have additional requirements for those interested in pursuing a career as an RN so always check with the state you want to work in first.