A day in the life of a registered nurse can be hectic, but it is full of joy and hard work. Registered nurses are at the forefront of providing quality care to patients with compassion, empathy, and dignity. They follow best practices in nursing to ensure that their patient’s needs are met as well as their own. This blog post will give you an inside look into what a typical day for an RN looks like
What is a typical day like as a registered nurse:
- A typical day as a registered nurse begins with checking in for the shift.
- The first task is to conduct new patient screenings and assessments. This includes weighing, measuring, and vital sign checks such as blood pressure or pulse rate.
- These are completed by reviewing any patient documentation that may be present on their electronic chart either from the hospital staff or from other health care providers who have seen them previously.
- After these tasks are complete, they can then proceed back to familiarize themselves with what has happened overnight before beginning treatments throughout the course of the morning hours, including wound dressings, intravenous therapy, medication administration, and so forth. As it’s getting close to lunch time, this could also include changing bandages if necessary, which would be very helpful in wound care.
- A nurse will then be able to partake in some time for lunch, which might include a trip outside or even having to eat at their desk, depending on what the schedule looks like that day. After this, they may have additional tasks such as completing discharge paperwork with patients who are scheduled to leave soon and make sure everyone has everything they need from arrangements of transportation home, new prescriptions, contact information for follow-up appointments, etc., before leaving work themselves.
- The last thing would just be a general reminder: it is important not only that nurses understand all of these implications but also know how best to protect themselves while doing their jobs by wearing gloves when needed and disinfectant sprays when appropriate.
The benefits of the job:
- A day in the life of a registered nurse provides you with many benefits and opportunities. To name just a few, it can offer job security, flexible hours, great pay, and so much more!
- Nurses are needed everywhere; hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, or even in your own home if necessary. Whatever works for you is perfectly fine.
- The work environment varies vastly depending on where you choose to practice but all provide new challenges that will shape who you become as an individual and professional.
- There’s never any shortage of caring professions that need help from nurses like hospice care providers, school nurses, or those working at assisted living facilities, among others.
- A nurse’s work schedule is usually based on a rotating shift, so you have to be flexible with your hours and willing to change periodically.
- When it gets busy, this can mean 12 or more hour shifts in one day, but there are many benefits that help make up for the long days like overtime pay, free meal breaks during those longer shifts – which also means some time away from the stress of caring for patients – and knowing that you’re making such a positive impact in someone’s life.
- Working as a registered nurse provides an environment where personal boundaries don’t matter when it comes to caring about others; physically being able to take care of them whether through nursing interventions or giving emotional support if needed.
Why do people want to be nurses
Nursing is a rewarding and honorable profession. These are the words that many nursing students hear from their professors, peers, or family members when they share with them how much they enjoy being in this field of study. Nurses have been helping people heal since ancient times, but as medical knowledge has advanced, so too has the role of nurses to include more than just direct patient care. They are now involved in education, research, and administration duties which make it an even more rewarding career choice for those who want to help others while also advancing their own skills. Also check out the types of nursing degrees here
If you are considering a career in the nursing field, this article should give you some insight into what it’s like to be a nurse every day. For more information on how we can help with your education and training needs, reach out to one of our admissions specialists today! They will be happy to answer any questions or concerns about being an RN. You may also want to read up on these articles that describe the average income for nurses as well as the different types of nursing careers available. More on registered nursing from here.