ADVICE! - What Nurses Do

There are many threads on this topic that you might find of assistance.

In my opinion there is not a job description or job summary for nurses that I have ever found that truly states what all we do as nurses. I think to get the most accurate insight you should shadow a nurse at your local hospital or teaching facility.

Volunteering will allow you to make valuable connections, but, you will not do nursing tasks as a volunteer. You might try working part time as a cNA or during the summer to gain more nursing related experience.

Best wishes.

The quick answer is that we do EVERYTHING! In reality, we cannot operate and only NPs can prescribe meds or write orders, but otherwise we really do everything.

In a hospital setting, we are the ones that spend 12 hours a day with a patient and we are the first to notice if someone has a drug reaction or start to go downhill.

we advocate for our patients

we educate our patients

we hold their hands

we follow Dr orders

we keep better records than the FBI

we answer millions of questions EVERY day

we pass meds, stick people with needles, and lift and move those who can't do for themselves

we speak to family members

we enforce policy

about the only thing we do not do is pee....sometimes for an entire 12 hour shift

If you have the compassion and desire, it's the best job in the world!

It's tough to describe what we do and what unit or job you have makes a big difference. You have many roles: teacher, counselor, guide, comforter, companion, champion, protector, healer to name a few. I think volunteering is a great and shadowing if you can find it. I also think working as a CNA while in school is a great plan. You will learn a lot, gain value experience and it's a good in for your first nursing job.

Getting your first RN job is tough and i don't think that will change any time soon. I advise you to go to school where you will want to live for at least a year after getting your RN license so you can use clinical studies (and time as a CNA or student nurse) to get your first job.

There are great MD message boards similar to this if you want to explore that route too.