Journal of Nursing Administration, Research Paper Example

Job Description

A registered professional nurse is a licensed health care professional and has dependents, collaborative, andindependent role in caring of individuals. The people cared by the nurse are of all ages, groups, communities, andfamilies. The care can be provided to well or sick persons. Any nurse who is registered uses the science of health care andthe art of caring to focus on the quality of life. This is can done  by a registered nurse through treatment of patients andnursing diagnosis.

Registered nurses practice their duties in a variety of settings, which includes clinics, private homes, hospitals, schools, industry, and private offices. Registered nurse provide services as execution of medical regimens as prescribedby dentists, physician assistants, podiatrists,’ and licensed physician (Ebright & Render 2003, p. 635). Registered nursesassist in assessing patients such that they can know whether the patient can fit with the new circumstances and situationscreated by health status. The nurse counsel and teach on emotional adjustments of the patient and their family, and healthprocedures. The nurse should manage and deliver palliative or restorative care to the disabled, ill, and dying. The nursesshould participate in health systems management, research, and shaping the health policy. It is the role of the nurses to identify through critical analysis and case-finding community’s, patient’s, family’s deviation from wellbeing and health. After identification, they initiate and even recommend the immediate actions to be taken, which includes establishment of safe homes or new environments

Registered nurses are sometimes limited to some extend that they cannot make decisions without consulting theirrespective authorities. For example, when a physician or any other practitioner has assigned a nursing duty, he/she cannot decide to change the diet of the patient without consultation. In addition, the nurse cannot decide to change the drugsadministered to the unstable patient without seeking consultation. If the nurse decides to do it without consultation, he/she will have gone against the rules and regulations governing the registered nurses.

Code of ethics for registered nurses acts as a foundation for the ethical practice for the nurses. The code of ethicsgives guidance for ethical decision-making, behavior, and responsibilities. Registered nurses should work in the bestinterests of service to users. This means that the nurses should deliver their services to the patients to their best standards. This will make the patients be satisfied with the services they are being offered by the nurses. Nurses should respect theconfidentiality of the service users. The registered nurses should treat the information provided by the patients as confidential. The confidential information should only be refilled to the specific people or officers if needed, but this is after getting the authority from the patient (Buerhaus & Dittus 2005, p. 10).

The nurses should present and keep higher standards of their personal conduct when attending to patients. Thehealth care professionals should understand the language used by the patients. This will enable both the nurse and thepatient to understand each other when communicating effectively. The nurses should keep their professional skills andknowledge up to date. Registered nurses should work within the limits of their experience, knowledge, and skills. In addition, they can refer to other practitioners or specialists with a better experience if necessary. Registered nurses should communicate effectively with the patient and other practitioners. If there is a communication barrier between any one of the two parties communicating, a translator should be used. This will make sure that the message is delivered to receiverand back to the sender (Kane & Wilt 200, p. 1199).

Education / Registration / Certification

There are many paths of education that one can pass through to become a registered nurse. Registered nurseeducation requirements range from diploma to a bachelor’s degree. Diploma programs are offered in hospitals whileassociate degree programs are offered at community colleges. Bachelor’s degrees in nursing programs are offered at universities and colleges. Associate degree and diploma programs prepare the nurses for entry-level positions in healthcare centers and hospitals. Registered nurses with associate degrees and diplomas will enroll for bachelor’s degree so thatthey can qualify to take wider ranges of roles or duties. Registered nurses with bachelor’s degree qualifications can workin community health care promotion and prevention of diseases.

The schools offering the nursing programs are Clemson University and Lander University. The studentsgraduating from these schools are competent and they can work in various destinations all over the world. This is becausethe schools have enough materials to train the students on nursing programs. The available materials are for both theoryand practical such that the graduates will be competent enough in both practical and theory. Diploma programs taketypically three years for the student to complete the course. It takes the student two to three years to complete associate degree programs, which are offered in community colleges. Bachelor’s degree programs in nursing take four years forstudents to complete the course.

The cost of studying bachelor’s degree in Clemson University is $ 22646 per year. This will cater for all expensesincluding tuition, food, and accommodation. This is the fees for those who will reside inside the university and studyingfull time. In Lander University, the cost of studying bachelor of nursing is $ 21872 per year. The fees includeaccommodation, tuition fees, and food. This is as per the students who are studying full time and recite in the University. Upon completion of the diploma, associate degree, or bachelor’s degree in nursing, the graduate will be awarded a completion certificate as per the level of the course. The certificates offered will be recognized worldwide and thegraduates can work anywhere in the world. The graduates from the nursing course are required to be register with nursingcouncil. Upon registration, the nurses are given license, which will enable them to be recognized all over the world as qualified registered nurses to work in the respective fields (Larrabe & Burant 2003, p. 280).

Employment

Jobs are readily available for this field of nursing. This is because it is a technical field and few students choose to pursue the course. This will make the practicing registered nurses too few thereby leading to availability of job positions.The growth trends in the field of nursing are frequent and changing. This is because of effective research and studiesconduct the registered nurses. The programs are conducted with the assistance from other physicians and practitioners. The studies are conducted consequently because of improved technology and arising measures where specialist tries to innovate various medicines and cures. The number of nursing jobs advertised in the Sunday Herald ranges between 5 and10. This is because of available job vacancies in the field of nursing.

Experience is one of the requirements needed for one to be employed as a registered nurse. Registered nurses with vast experience in the field will be preferred as they will deliver their duties in a professional manner. In addition, theexperienced nurses are required so that they can supervise the new entrants. The new entrants cannot be left to deal with clients on their own. Instead, they are closely monitored for some time as they acquire field experience. The new entrantswill have some experience in the field of nursing because after graduating, they are required to undergo a form of trainingfor some time before being absorbed. The salaries for the new entrants and the experienced registered nurses differ (Mark 2004, p. 106). This is because of the difference in the knowledge and experienced one has acquired in the field of nursing.The experienced registered nurses earn more than the new entrants do. This is because when they are in their respectivefields of work the new entrant will be seeking some advice on how to about some technical issues. There are advancementopportunities in the field of nursing. The priority is given to those with additional education.

Professional Activities

After students graduated, they are required to register with professional organizations. There are local, state, andnational professional organizations. The costs of registering differ in the three types of organizations. The graduatingstudents will go for the cheap organizations when registering. This is because they are looking for jobs and they do not have enough money to register with the state or national professional organizations.

The journal of professional nursing is one of the journals used by the registered nurses. The journal costs $ 14 to be bought and it is found in Washington, United States. Another journal is American Journal of Nursing, which costs $ 58 to be bought, and it is found in Worcester United States. Continuing education units are required and the registered nursescan access it by being organized by their respective employers (Ulrich et al 2007, p. 217). Other employers treat this as an incentive to motivate their employees. The continuing education units can be accessed individually from various sourcesof institutions. The registered nurses can acquire continuing education through seminars and workshops. The seminars are organized for the nurses to acquire more knowledge and skills in their fields of study.

References

Larrabee, J. H. & Burant, C. (2003). Predicting registered nurse job satisfaction and intent to leave. Journal of Nursing Administration, 33(5), 271-283.

Kane, R. L. & Wilt, T. J. (2007). The association of registered nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes: systematic review and meta-analysis. Medical care, 45(12), 1195-1204.

Ebright, P. R. & Render, M. L. (2003). Understanding the complexity of registered nurse work in acute care settings. Journal of Nursing Administration, 33(12), 630-638.

Buerhaus, P. I. & Dittus, R. (2005). State of the registered nurse workfore in the United States. Nursing economic$, 24(1), 6-12.

Mark, B. A.(2004). A longitudinal examination of hospital registered nurse staffing and quality of care. Health services research, 39(2), 279-300.

Ulrich, B. T., Buerhaus, P. I., Donelan, K., Norman, L., & Dittus, R. (2007). Magnet status and registered nurse views of the work environment and nursing as a career. Journal of Nursing Administration, 37(5), 212-220.