What do nurses do? Nurses can perform a wide range of clinical and administrative tasks. Clinical tasks include administering medications and vaccinations, performing patient assessments, and providing wound care. Administrative tasks include updating patients’ records. Nursing tasks can also vary according to a nurse’s specialty area.
Nurses are often the main point of contact for patients navigating the health system. They serve as patient advocates, educators, caregivers, and more. While registered nurses (RNs) can specialize in a particular patient population or area of medicine, they are equipped to provide a broad range of care services to patients.
What do nurses do at the bedside? If you decide to attend nursing school to earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, you’ll gain first-hand experience in performing nursing tasks.
At Averett University, our Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program combines hands-on learning experiences with didactic online nursing education. Our students graduate with a BSN in as few as 16 months, fully prepared to apply their nursing skills to patient care.
If you enroll in the ABSN program, you’ll learn crucial patient care skills in nursing skills labs and develop clinical decision-making skills in simulation labs. Then you’ll practice delivering actual patient care under supervision during clinical rotations.
What do registered nurses do? Nurses’ typical daily tasks can vary depending on their specialty area.
What Does a Nurse Do?
Nurses fulfill many different roles in the healthcare industry, such as:
- Patient advocates
- Patient and family caregiver educators
- Researchers
- Patient care providers
- Case managers and care coordinators
Nurses take a holistic approach to patient care. They consider the broad range of factors that contribute to a patient’s wellness and recovery, including social support, cognitive abilities, health literacy, and cultural background.
Nurses strive to empower patients to make informed decisions about their health and wellness and become active participants in their care.
Consider 7 reasons why nursing school is worth it.
Nursing Responsibilities and Tasks
What do nurses do from day to day? Their typical daily responsibilities depend on their specialty. For example, a behavioral health nurse counsels patients affected by mental health disorders, while a dialysis nurse operates dialysis equipment.
In general, an RN can do any of the following:
- Perform head-to-toe assessments and chart their observations
- Record medical histories and ask patients about their symptoms
- Develop or contribute to care plans
- Administer medications, checking first for potential interactions and ensuring the patient receives the correct drug and dosage
- Administer immunizations to protect patients from serious and deadly illnesses
- Perform diagnostic tests and interpret the results
- Operate and monitor medical equipment
- Provide wound care
Nurses also collaborate with other healthcare providers, including nurses, physicians, and healthcare technicians. They help patients understand their diagnoses and treatment options. When a patient is being discharged, an RN instructs the patient and their family caregiver on what to do at home.
Nursing Tasks Away From the Bedside
In addition to providing direct patient care, nurses also handle various tasks away from the bedside. For example, RNs are responsible for updating electronic health records. They also provide care coordination and case management services.
Some nurses step away from providing direct patient care entirely. They may choose to become nurse administrators or nurse managers. These types of nurses handle tasks such as:
- Shift scheduling
- Department budgeting
- Resource allocation
- Department policies and procedures
- Compliance fulfillment
- Staff development
- New hire onboarding and training
Other nurses decide to become nurse researchers. A clinical research nurse helps expand the body of knowledge in the field. They work to bring new treatments and medical devices to the industry so that more patients can recover or manage their chronic conditions. Clinical research nurses may do any of the following:
- Interview patients prior to research studies, and monitor and record their progress during the study
- Instruct patients and ensure they adhere to study protocols
- Develop reports of the results of the study and publish the findings in medical journals
- Present research findings at medical conferences
The Role of Different Nurses in Healthcare
What do registered nurses do? Aside from the basic tasks that all nurses can do, nurses can gain a specialized skill set that aligns with their chosen nursing specialty.
A nursing specialty can be defined by specific patient populations, such as women’s health, pediatrics, or adult-gerontology.
Alternatively, a nursing specialty can encompass a specific area of medicine, such as oncology nursing. A nursing specialty could even be defined by an area of the body or bodily system, such as cardiac nursing or orthopedics, or by setting, such as home health nursing.
Some additional examples include:
- Emergency room/urgent care nursing
- Hospice nursing
- Neonatal intensive care nursing
- Perioperative nursing
- Psychiatric mental health nursing
- Public health nursing
- Trauma center nursing
Nurses across specialties will often perform the same or similar tasks. For example, a public health nurse and an emergency room nurse could both provide patient education.
Other tasks can vary from one specialty to another. For example, a hospice nurse will focus on pain management and emotional support, while a cardiac nurse working in a cardiac rehabilitation program will develop individualized exercise recommendations and educate patients about healthy living choices.
Where Do Nurses Work?
One of the great things about choosing a career as a nurse is its flexibility. Nurses can work across a wide range of settings.
Many nurses choose to work in hospitals, including teaching hospitals and Magnet hospitals. Others work in doctors’ offices, such as family care practices or specialist outpatient offices, or outpatient surgery centers.
Other workplace options for an RN include:
- Behavioral health treatment facilities
- Birthing centers
- Correctional facilities
- Dermatology practices
- Emergency medical evacuation flights
- Government agencies
- Insurance companies
- Nursing homes and assisted living facilities
- Pharmaceutical companies
- Remotely via telehealth
- Schools
With so many options, nurses are sure to find a setting that best suits them. Those who crave a fast-paced setting, for example, might decide to work in an emergency room or trauma center. Those who prefer a predictable 9-to-5 schedule can work in a school, insurance company, or public health agency.
There are plenty of alternative nursing careers away from the bedside to consider pursuing.
Pursue a Nursing Career at Averett University
Now that you know the many different answers to the question, “What does a nurse do?” are you ready to start working toward a nursing career?
No matter where your nursing career takes you, you can benefit from developing a solid academic foundation at Averett University. Our rigorous nursing education effectively prepares our graduates for success across a wide range of nursing specialties.
The ABSN program takes a hybrid approach to learning by providing didactic classes online for greater convenience, combined with our in-person nursing labs and clinical experiences. Thanks to our small class sizes and Academic Success Coaches, you’ll enjoy personalized attention.
If you have a non-nursing bachelor’s degree or at least 60 non-nursing college credits, you may qualify to apply for admission to our ABSN program. Contact an admissions advisor today to get started.