Registered Nurses
On the Job
Registered Nurses assess patient health problems. They develop nursing care plans and maintain medical records. They advise patients and provide direct care. They may also provide emotional support to patients and their families.
Typical Work Tasks
People who work in this career often:
- Administer basic health care or medical treatments.
- Administer intravenous medications.
- Refer patients to other healthcare practitioners or health resources.
- Treat patients using psychological therapies.
- Administer anesthetics or sedatives to control pain.
- Administer non-intravenous medications.
- Assist healthcare practitioners during examinations or treatments.
- Assist healthcare practitioners during surgery.
- Immunize patients.
- Prepare patients physically for medical procedures.
Typical Working Conditions
- Having telephone conversations.
- Working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions.
- The importance of being accurate or exact.
- Exposure to disease or infections.
- Frequent decision-making.
- Working with a group or team.
- Wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hearing protection, hard hats, or life jackets.
- Meeting strict deadlines.
- Responsibility for outcomes and results.
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people.
- Standing.
This page includes information from the O*NET 24.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Source: You can learn about our data sources in the About Us section.
