Dr. Eboni Green
November 29, 2022
Millions of nurses in the US work tirelessly to help make the lives of their patients easier and aid in their healing. While it is no secret that every day in the healthcare world will look completely different, there are some consistencies. If you want to enter the medical field, you might want to know about the main things you will have to do every day as a nurse.
As a nurse, your sole responsibility is your patients’ health, safety, and wellness. As such, you must keep a watchful eye on those patients who are under your care throughout your shift. Nurses should expect to check the vital signs of patients on a consistent basis.
The frequency of your vital sign checks will entirely depend upon your patient and their condition. For some patients, you might only need to check in every four hours, but you can also have patients who require vital checks every 15 minutes.
A significant aspect of working in the healthcare field involves medication for pain management or maintaining a patient’s health. As such, a sizable portion of your time as a nurse will involve medication administration. You will need to administer medications in various ways, and one of the most common ways will occur through an IV. It is crucial to know the different types of intravenous lines and their uses so that you can accurately assist your patients.
One of the main things you may not know you will have to do as a nurse is chart records at the end of your shift. Your end-of-shift report is essential, so you must ensure it has as much information and detail as possible. Keep in mind that the oncoming nurse who takes over will utilize the information on your chart to care for the patient. The more notes you provide, the easier things are for the rest of your staff.
