on a typical day working as an RN, what do you do?

Answer 1

I start off by getting report from the previous shift. Then I check my charts for new orders. I start my patient assessments and make sure no one is in pain. I put my assessments into the computer as well as vital signs. I give out meds that are due. I hang new iv bags. I send off patients to tests and to the OR. I take admissions and discharge patients . My floor is a cancer unit so blood transfusions as well as chemo is a daily routine. I have to keep a close eye out for lab work results and I draw blood for stat orders. There are alot of wound care patients on the unit so dressing changes have to be done and the wound assessment placed into the computer on the flowsheet. There is alot to nursing. it can be stressful and overwhelming, but it's also rewarding. I can be having the worse day imaginable, but all it takes is that one sweet patient that smiles through all they are going through and thanks you for all you are doing for them.....that is when I really am happy I became a nurse. It makes me feel so much joy knowing I have helped someone feel just a little better.

Answer 2

How very interesting that all these nurses (RNs I assume) list direct patient care in their daily routines.

I am a doctor, my mother was a nurse. She has had several of hospitalizations and I was at her side. I have seen an RN do direct patient care for her a total of ONE time. Most of the time it was not even LVNs, it was aides. She was astonished at the poor nursing care, as she used to work in the cardiac ward of Children's Hospital in Chicago. I try to explain to her that that is the rule nowadays, the RNs are busy with all the paperwork, much too busy to actually see/touch or assess patients directly. The one we saw was quite nice, competent and friendly, and chatted with us for half an hour....now that I think about it, maybe she should not have used up time that would have been better spent on patient care for the others.

Ungrateful administration/insurance companies, shiftwork and unreasonably demanding patients conspire to keep the nursing workforce limited. I understand that the wages have improved substantially recently, hope it will help with recruiting.

Answer 3

More than you can imagine and some things that vary according to your specialty. I worked mostly ER. We did triage, drew blood, started IVs, did EKGs, dispensed medication (nurses DO NOT prescribe medications), assisted in setting fractures, assisted in suturing, stripped and cleaned patients involved in trauma, did discharge teaching, even more that I can't think of and, of course, the major downfall and biggest time consumer...documenting EVERYTHING!

If you work on a "floor", you do bedpans, bed baths, dispensing meds, either starting IVs or calling the IV team to do them, changing beds, getting people out of bed after surgery, moving patients, etc, etc, ect. Those duties also vary according to the type of nursing you are doing....pediatrics, OB?
/GYN, orthopedics, med-surg, etc, etc, etc. Of course, documentation is always imperitive and is very time consuming.

You also have added duties if you happen to be the Charge Nurse (on off shifts) and the Head Nurse (who usually works days but is responsible for the entire staff on that floor).

Answer 4

depends on what you specialize in...anything from assisting doctors to prescribing medication...you could even be an RN administrator and work in an office setting or you could teach at a college or university...the longer you go to school the more you can do...it is one of the most rewarding careers out there

Answer 5

Take care of patients, fill out paperwork, answer the cal light and Telephone.
Pass Medication,give shots, teach patients how to take and what to look out for and when to call the doctor, talk to patient"relatives
and a whole lot more,the shift is just to short to do it all.
Work Medical Unit

Answer 6

Head to toe assessments and documentation on patients. Oral and IV medications. Start IV's. Insert foley catheters. Check off doctors orders. Write telephone and standing orders. Education with patients and families. Clean patients who have been incontinent if Aides are busy. Document...document...document!

Answer 7

Drink alcoholic beverages. Cry and pull out my hair.

Answer 8

bed pans