Job Details
Registered nurses (RNs) provide and coordinate patient care, educate patients and the public about various health conditions, and provide advice and emotional support to patients and their family members.
Registered nurses' duties and titles often depend on where they work and the patients they work with. Most registered nurses work as part of a team with physicians and other healthcare specialists. Some registered nurses oversee licensed practical nurses, nursing assistants, and home health aides.
**Working as a Registered Nurse**
Depending on their roles, qualifications, specialization and years of experience, a registered nurse may:
* Assess patients' conditions
* Record patients' medical histories and symptoms
* Observe patients and record the observations
* Administer patients' medicines and treatments
* Set up plans for patients' care or contribute information to existing plans
* Help perform diagnostic tests and analyze the results
* Operate and monitor medical equipment
**Additional compensation**
Overtime $11,250 per year **Most common benefits**
* Referral program
* Tuition reimbursement
* License reimbursement
* 403(b)
* 401(k)
Search Location location Search Location location 3.2 Compensation/Benefits **Pros and cons**
Written by RN (Current Employee) at - Gaithersburg, MD March 27, 2014 I love the patients I am able to work with here. A typical day includes patient teaching, coordinating appointments and procedures, and requesting pathology services. My coworkers are very supportive and friendly. Management is inexperienced and the department has expanded too quickly, which can often be overwhelming for managers. The most unpleasant part of my job is a physical environment that is cramped and shared by too many people, and not conducive to focusing and staying on-task. The hardest part of this job is trying to conform to a zero tolerance for individuality, and this can be a stifling and sometimes impossible standard to meet. I love supporting my patients through their cancer diagnosis and sequelae throughout their trial involvement, and I have a strong calling to work with patients facing potentially life-limiting illness.
**Pros**Good benefits, competitive salary, challenging duties and interesting work
**Cons**Lack of privacy, stifling and unrealistic corporate culture
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**Pros**good pay and benefits
**Pros**benefits
**High Stress, Fast Paced, Rewarding Patient Outcomes**
Written by Registered Nurse (Former Employee) at - Grass Valley, CA November 3, 2015 Twelve hours days, three days a week, demanding, incredible co-workers, long days, but four days off per week. Great pay and benefits. Loved my patients, and educating them and their families kept me going. Upper management was creating an atmosphere of hostility on a hospital wide level.
**Pros**Pay, benefits, close to home, Incredible Co-Workers, 4 days off
**Cons**Long Days, High Stress, Over worked staff, Poor Upper Management
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Registered nurses (RNs) must have an associate degree or bachelor's degree and have passed the national council licensure examination (NCLEX). Each state has different requirements for being allowed to take the NCLEX, so be sure to check out your state's requirements to become an RN.
* Degree: associate degree, bachelors degree, or a bachelor of science degree in nursing (BSN). Nurses who have a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) are in most demand.
* Specialty: Emergency room, oncology, intensive care, psychiatry, telemetry, labor, and delivery, etc. Prior experience or a certification in a specialty can help become more competitive.
* Setting: Hospitals, schools, clinics, insurance companies, medical sales, universities, research labs, etc. There are both clinical and non-clinical opportunities for nurses.
Some hospitals hire float pool registered nurses who move around units and shifts based on staffing needs. Rather than specializing, float pool nurses work with multiple specialties and with diverse patient populations.
There are several different soft skills and hard skills that registered nurses should have. Some of the most important skills include patience, excellent communication, ICD coding, critical thinking, utilization review and stress management.