Registered nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Registered nursing - Essay Example RNs are responsible for teaching patients or family members on how to take care of post-treatment home care, diet and exercise programs, and self-administration of medication and physical therapy and at times grief counseling as well. (Occupational Outlook Handbook) 1 Registered nurses also team up with doctors in the performance of treatments, tests and examinations, the administration of medications, and the provision of direct patient care in convalescence and rehabilitation. (Mayo School of Health Sciences) 2 RNs also provide direct patient care, they observe, asses, and record symptoms, reactions, and progress, which provides the basis for care planning and intervention. Registered nurses work in various settings from patient care and case management to establishing nursing practice standards, developing quality assurance procedures, directing complex nursing care systems, conducting clinical research, teaching in nursing programs, legal nursing as well as practicing in many other stimulating settings. (Explore health careers) 3 RNs can also specialize in one or more patient care specialties separated by work setting type of treatment; disease, ailment, or condition; organ or body system type; or population. They may specialize by becoming ambulatory care nurses, critical care nurses, emergency, or trauma, nurses, home health care nurses, hospice and palliative care nurses, medical-surgical nurses, perianesthesia nurses, perioperative nurses, radiologic nurses, psychiatric nurses, etc. the list is endless. Aspiring nurses must graduate from an approved nursing program and pass a national licensing examination, the NCLEX-RN, in order to get a nursing license. After this there are different means of becoming an RN. The first method is a bachelor’s of science degree in nursing (BSN); these programs are offered by colleges and universities and require four years of study. The second