Registered nurse roles, responsibilities, and professional services

RN Work Roles

Registered Nurse

The role of the registered nurse (RN) within society is very important as the healthcare of our communities allows us to enjoy our lives without pain and suffering. The RN plays a pivotal role within the healing process and is a very popular career in today's environment. The explosion of health care needs for the baby boomer generation has created a demand for nurses like never before.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, " Registered nurses (RNs) provide and coordinate patient care, educate patients and the public about various health conditions, and provide advice and emotional support to patients and their family members. Registered nurses work in hospitals, physicians' offices, home healthcare services, and nursing care facilities. Others work in correctional facilities, schools, or serve in the military." Nursing has a variety of applications and can be specifically applied to all branches of medicine. Nurses require a substantial education before being licensed and registered as a nurse

Since the scope and range of an RN's duties are very wide and numerous, RN's must be flexible and ready to learn new tasks easily. Caring is an essential role in the nursing profession, and just being clinically proficient is not enough. The emotional demands on a RN are real and suggest that successful nurses must be able to give more of themselves than in most careers. Nursing can be a very good career. The pay is very good, however hours may be non-typical and demanding.

Services and Products

Nurses perform a number of services and are used as the backbone of the medical profession. Attending to patients is one of many services that nurses perform. In this task a number of things may take place, such as reading charts, taking patient data, or simply just visiting. These services reflect a need for RN's to be able to care and demonstrate empathy towards another patient who is ill. This service requires an emotional and personal dedication to the job and is the essence of nursing.