what does a nurse do?

What does a Nurse do?

Simply put: Nurses strive to achieve the best possible quality of care for individuals, families, and communities, regardless of disease or disability.

The majority of individuals are aware of what nurses do. It’s likely that you have at least once witnessed a nurse in action and can mentally imagine a couple of her duties. However, despite the fact that the average person is very familiar with the stereotype of a nurse, there are a lot of false beliefs around the question “what does a nurse do?”

Hence, before you ask “what does a nurse do?” It is ideal to understand who a nurse is.

Who is a Nurse?

Nurses save lives every day. In the medical field, nurses outnumber doctors by a ratio of 3:1. Nurses are able to organize the care for all facets of a patient’s entire health, unlike doctors who frequently concentrate in one area. For instance, a patient with chest problems might see a cardiologist, a nephrologist, and an expert in internal medicine. Only in their specific fields of specialization would each of these experts diagnose, treat, and prescribe drugs. 

However, the nurse would be in charge of the patient’s overall care, ensuring that prescriptions don’t conflict with one another and that the patient is aware of and ready for treatment. The nurse is the one who reviews diagnostic results first and, if necessary, quickly informs the right doctor. Today, nurses share equal responsibility for the patient’s comprehensive care.

When it comes to maintaining public health and providing medical attention to those who are ill or injured, nurses are essential.

The nursing profession offers a variety of specialties, from working with the tiniest newborn patients in the NICU to geriatrics and palliative care for people nearing the end of their lives. No matter their expertise, nurses work hard to treat their patients with decency, respect, and compassion.

A nurse who has earned a nursing degree, passed the NCLEX-RN exam, and met all other state licensing requirements is referred to as a registered nurse. Although a bachelor’s degree or above is increasingly desired by companies, an associates degree is still the minimal education needed to take the NCLEX-RN exam.

What Does a Nurse Do?

Taking vital signs and giving medication are just the beginning of what nurses do. Here is more about the amazingly diverse roles that these superheroes in scrubs play during every shift.

  • Recognizing anomalies and issues

Nurses are the first to notice changes in a patient’s symptoms. They have first-hand knowledge of each patient’s unique circumstance thanks to the official and informal assessments they conduct. They notice any changes and can distinguish between symptoms that are normal and those that point to a more serious issue.

Nurses analyze lab results and other information, make judgments, and share our concerns with the rest of the care team. Despite the fact that nurses do not perform medical diagnostics, they constantly make care decisions based on patient data. When you phone a doctor with a concern, the doctor typically assumes that you will also have a suggestion for what to do next.

That translates into paying great attention to patients on a daily basis. It’s crucial to conduct thorough assessments and even anticipate solutions to improve patients’ comfort.

  • Teaching

It makes perfect sense that you would want to educate your patient and their family because they would need to know how to take care of themselves or a loved one when they go home.

Nurses frequently share information with others about the sickness, treatments, and symptoms they encounter in a hospital setting, as well as their plan of care after they leave.

The nurses in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) spent a lot of time teaching parents about breastfeeding, medical equipment, drug administration, feeding, infant sleep and car seat safety, bathing, and developmental milestones.

Patients can have incredibly complicated care plans to follow at home, therefore the family needs to be equipped to handle everything.

  • Championing patients’ rights outside the realm of medicine.

Even though it may not happen frequently, nurses frequently intervene to help patients even after they have left a hospital or medical facility. This “obligation” is a component of a holistic nursing approach.

Time constraints will always be an issue, but combining resources and removing obstacles for patient health may go well beyond the straightforward indications and symptoms that led patients to the hospital.

  • Establishing patient trust

You spend a lot of time getting a child ready before giving them an IV. The IV cannot be inserted as soon as you enter the room. This is an example of some of the emotional work nurses undertake with patients. Whether they are adults, children, or someone else, to make their time receiving healthcare as easy as possible. Although it is difficult, providing young kids a sense of control might be preferable in the long run. Rather than pinning them down and putting an IV before moving on to the next job. Patients will have less obstacles to their own healing when nurses gain their trust.

Gaining a patient’s trust and exercising patience are both skills.

  • Examining several factors to determine the effect on a patient

The investigative work in nursing is definitely Sherlock Holmes-style. To determine what the underlying problems are and how they influence the patient, nurses need keen evaluation skills. The work that nurses do to provide for their patients’ treatments and interventions is impacted by a variety of factors, including their ability to foresee potential problems and act quickly when necessary.

  • Conforming to procedures thoroughly and consistently

Nursing is a fairly technical field of work. As there is much that can be said about emotional communication and the psychological assistance patients require. Hence the ongoing requirement for your undivided focus on the task.

Many of the duties are complex. It is important to execute them with highly precise guidelines for procedure, safety, and cleanliness. To avoid endangering patients, they necessitate careful monitoring.

It can be quite difficult to strike a balance between the precise clinical criteria and the more emotional labor that nurses frequently conduct.

  • Taking care of the patient’s family members

Nurses frequently find themselves caring for everyone in the room, including the patient, of course. As well as the family, friends, and loved ones who can be going through terrible emotions. They wind up giving a great deal of emotional assistance.

Giving parents terrible news regarding a condition or their child’s development may be necessary in the NICU. Mothers are doing their best while juggling all of that to pump breastmilk for their baby. Albeit it can be challenging at times. It’s crucial to support them so they understand how much their efforts are valued.

Sometimes taking care of loved ones also entails allowing them to occupy some of your time or slow you down.

 

In Conclusion:

An old proverb that states that while a doctor can diagnose you, a nurse can actually save your life. We can all go back to a moment when a nurse was most necessary. Maybe for a routine checkup in the doctor’s office or an urgent crisis requiring a trip to the hospital.

The majority of people can recall a nurse who made a big contribution to their lives at some point. Whether it was a relative, close friend, acquaintance, or the doctor’s office nurse you have been visiting for years. If WebMD doesn’t fully address your medical queries, you may even have a nurse’s number in your phone book.

Becoming a nurse entails improving and saving other people’s lives. Being a nurse is a great career choice. If you’re searching for a job where you can put your desire to serve people to good use.

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