how much is a nurse able to do?

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Mar 8, 2009

My advice to you would be to shadow a nurse for a shift. Nursing is so much more than Vitals. Talk to your school and see if they can setup a time to visit with a nurse in a field you like. I did that and had a couple of my ideas of what nursing is like shattered.

hypocaffeinemia, BSN, RN · Mar 8, 2009

i want to ask this, but i just dont want to offend anyone. i am getting ready to apply to nursing school and just finishing up my science prereqs, which have been soooooo hard. i feel like whenever i visit a hospital or doctors office , it seems like the nurses mainly take blood pressure and vital signs. i have to believe there is much more to it than that, or why would you have to learn all the science etc. i just want to be able to really use what i have worked for, but i am unclear on how much responsibility nurses are given. i would love any insight.

Most office staff these days aren't actually nurses. They may call themselves that, but it is technically illegal.

I think you need to try shadowing an ICU nurse* at a non-academic hospital to get an idea of what a nurse's scope of practice is capable of on an extreme end.

And try not to measure what nurses do by the number of skills and procedures performed-- you can teach a monkey to put in an IV, for instance.

*There are other areas that would be good for shadowing; I list critical care because that's what I'm familiar with.

Scooter321 · Mar 8, 2009

I'm not a nurse yet, but I'd be willing to bet that the "nurses" who take your BP, etc., are not nurses at all. Many doctors' offices and clinics employ MAs (medical assistants) for this. Hopefully they are not MAs actually representing themselves as nurses. :cry:

From what I have gathered, as a nurse you will have a gazillion opportunities to use all that science you learn in NS. :twocents:

allnurses Guide · Mar 8, 2009

Most of the time those "nurses" in the doctor's office are not nurses. They hire aides or train people themselves to do basic tasks.

In the hospital, the nurse taking your vitals (if it isn't an aide! :)), know the significance of those vitals, how to spot trends, when immediate intervention is needed, etc.

I promise you will be using all that science and preparation to learn to think critically, assess for norms and abnormalities, and understand disease processes, intervene when and where needed, and think think think all the time.

Congrats on nursing school!

kcochrane · Mar 9, 2009

It really depends on the area you go into. In long term care a RN could end up doing a lot of paperwork and supervising. But in my facility they still pass meds. They don't get a lot of IV experience.

In an office setting you may not see a nurse do a whole lot of "nursing things" - if they are a nurse - besides office work, VS and immunizations. But some like that type of pace. My MIL ended up there after 30+ years in nursing to finish off her career.

But in a ICU unit you could be doing a lot of different hands on things.

I agree with everyone else...shadow a few nurses in the different fields you would like to work. That's the great thing about nursing, there are so many options for us. :)