What exactly does a Resource Nurse Do?

[RNBSNMe]

I am applying for a position as a Resource Nurse. I looked online for info on the duties of a Resource Nurse, but the information on the job description was too technical. 

Does anyone know exactly what they do, and can you explain it in layman's terms?

[Medic09, BSN, RN, EMT-P]

Why would you apply for a job whose description you don't know?

How are you qualified for a job whose description you don't understand?

I mean no disrespect; I can't imagine applying for a job without knowing what it is.

The best place to find out, by the way, is the actual employer. Even with similar titles, job descriptions vary among employers. Don't be embarrassed. As an applicant, you are expected to ask about the specifics of the job.

Oh, and one more thing. Job descriptions often need to be more effectively written, and they come off as so much gobbledygook. That's one more reason to ask for clear specifics.

Resource Nurses usually have experience in a particular unit since they are coordinators and problem solvers for the other staff nurses.

[RNBSNMe]

You do have a valid point. I have a basic idea of what a resource Nurse does. They act as a resource to other nurses on the unit in their field of expertise ( they obviously have to have some experience in that area-telemetry, ICU, medical-surgical, OR). I guess I stated it in a rather awkward way. I wanted to know. Do they sometimes have to work on the floor? Is it a weekday-only job? Those kinds of questions from someone who is actually a resource nurse? And yeah, the recruiter would answer my questions, too ( She said I was qualified for the position), but why not ask my fellow nurses on allnurses.com?

Thanks anyway for your help!

[Jdl2002]

Was there any job description at all? At my hospital, resource nurses are called the nurses in the float pool. They fill in on almost any hospital floor with low staffing levels.

[RNperdiem, RN]

The resource nurses are a small group of experienced ICU nurses where I work.

They mainly carry a pager and transport your patient (if your ICU patient is not 1:1) to procedures.

They respond with the rapid response team and react to codes if they are outside staffing or transporting.

The resource nurses also cover holes in staffing in all the adult ICUs and step-down units(ten different units where I work).

If the day is slow for transports, the resource nurse can help cover lunch breaks and assist the nurses; there is plenty to do if you go looking.

[Achoo!, LPN]

Our resource nurses work day or PM shifts. They only take a pt load if someone is sick or we get a lot of admissions. They take off orders, assist with the codes in ER, assist where needed, take admission if it is busy, do rounds with the MDs, and are just an all-around helper. They only call MDs for basic stuff if they have yet to assess that pt particularly. I don't know how it works elsewhere.

[nrsang97, BSN, RN]

Our resource nurses are our float pool.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

I think we see now that "resource nurse" is a broad term that means radically different things in different facilities. I am used to the resource nurse being the float pool as well.

[pink85]

Our resource nurses are like the 'extra' nurse on our unit. They are just that. A resource for the nurses on our unit. They help with admissions, stat labs, taking patients to procedures, and just anything we may need. They work a regular shift nurse schedule. Days, nights, weekdays, weekends. Each hospital has its own description of what a resource nurse does, so I would specifically ask the unit in which you are applying.

[LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM]

Our "resource" nurse is just the charge nurse. Every shift, one of the nurses scheduled to work is picked as a resource (usually one of the most experienced nurses of that particular group) and keeps track of the unit census, and the acuity level of the patients, helps with admits and transfers, and generally helps out. It is one of my favorite things about my unit!

[pink85]

We have a large unit with a charge nurse and a resource nurse.

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

On our unit, the "resource" is just an extra staff nurse who helps with admissions, med recs, starting IVs, putting in foleys, pulling sheaths, chart checks, or whatever the nurses with full assignments need help with to get through the shift.