What does a nurse do?
Nurses are medical professionals assigned to a specific department in the hospital and provide their trusted department services. Nurses are in charge of taking patients' medical histories, getting vital signs, preparing patients for checkups or procedures, explaining upcoming practices, answering any questions, and communicating any concerns to the assigned doctor. Nurses should ensure that patients follow the medical advice given to them. They also assist patients in completing administrative requirements, such as filling out forms, validating details, and endorsing payments.
Nurse responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real nurse resumes:
- Monitor patients' status during surgery (circulate in operating room) and manage patients in PACU.
- Manage high-acuity cardiac/pulmonary and psychiatric patients
- Monitor patients for cardiac rhythm changes and implement medication according to ACLS guidelines.
- Educate patients and families on diseases processes, medications, wind care, and iv infusion.
- Provide care for patients on medical/surgical, transplant, cardiac, orthopedic, postpartum, neonatal ICU, and psychiatric units
- Demonstrate competence in CPR and other medical emergency situations.
- Provide direct patient care which include treatment and medication administration on a chronic care oncology floor.
- Provide comprehensive care to a diverse population of patients requiring cardiac monitoring on telemetry unit and ICU.
- Determine reimbursement rates on patients base on nursing assessments for both Medicare and Medicaid and negotiate insurance reimbursement.
- Provide skilled nursing service to patients requiring both medical management and rehabilitation requiring comprehensive physical, speech and occupational therapy.
- Skil cardiac care, BLS instructor, broad medical terminology knowledge, strong medical ethics.
- Perform nursing care to postpartum, antepartum, GYN, and med-surg patients as described above
- Provide ACLS nursing duties to inpatients using standing orders for treatment to prevent further medical decline.
- Perform medical procedures, such as basic cardiac life support (BLS), and other condition stabilizing interventions.
- Start iv and administer emergency medical attention.
Nurse skills and personality traits
We calculated that 21% of Nurses are proficient in Patients, Home Health, and CPR. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of Nurses that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 21%
Managed high-acuity cardiac/pulmonary and psychiatric patients
- Home Health, 7%
Assessed patients referred for home health services for eligibility utilizing Medicare, Medicaid, and/or private insurance standards.
- CPR, 6%
Received my CPR instructor certification.
- BLS, 6%
Licensed in the District of Columbia and Virginia - was licensed in Arkansas, Massachusetts and Minnesota in the past, BLS
- Acute Care, 5%
Provided acute care for post-operative patients recovering, encompassing ambulatory surgical procedures, invasive and extensive surgeries and traumas.
- Acls, 4%
Acted as Outreach Coordinator, responsible for coordinating and teaching ACLS, PALS and TNCC classes to area nurses and providers.
Most nurses use their skills in "patients," "home health," and "cpr" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential nurse responsibilities here:
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a nurse to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "registered nurses must be able to communicate effectively with patients in order to understand their concerns and evaluate their health conditions." Additionally, a nurse resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "provided patient care including assessments, medication administration, emergency care, documentation of health, and communication with staff and physicians"
Compassion. Many nurse duties rely on compassion. "registered nurses should be caring and empathetic when working with patients.," so a nurse will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways nurse responsibilities rely on compassion: "perform nursing tasks such as medication administration, assessments, and compassionate care to all clients. "
Detail oriented. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of nurses is detail oriented. This skill is critical to many everyday nurse duties, as "registered nurses must be precise because they must ensure that patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "provide detailed documentation to clinical nurse supervisor, including nursing flow sheets, wound care forms, and medication administration forms. "
Emotional stability. A big part of what nurses do relies on "emotional stability." You can see how essential it is to nurse responsibilities because "registered nurses need emotional resilience and the ability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stressors." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical nurse tasks: "conducted physical exams to determine client stability and medication administration. "
Organizational skills. A commonly-found skill in nurse job descriptions, "organizational skills" is essential to what nurses do. Nurse responsibilities rely on this skill because "nurses often work with multiple patients who have a variety of health needs." You can also see how nurse duties rely on organizational skills in this resume example: "contribute to organizational growth initiatives as preceptor instructing new nurses in crisis intervention, medication administration and resuscitation. "
Physical stamina. While "physical stamina" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to nurse responsibilities. Much of what a nurse does relies on this skill, seeing as "nurses should be comfortable performing physical tasks, such as lifting patients." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of nurses: "performed physical assessments and medication administration on 12 hours shifts. "
The three companies that hire the most nurses are:
- Quest Diagnostics2,029 nurses jobs
- Navy Mutual999 nurses jobs
- Indian Health Service246 nurses jobs
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Compare different nurses
Nurse vs. Emergency department registered nurse
An emergency registered nurse is first in line for patients who need a response. These nurses are first to respond to emergency cases such as trauma, allergic reactions, and injuries. They assist doctors and other medical staff in emergency medical care. It is their responsibility to always provide high-quality standards for nursing. The skills they should possess include diligence, attention to detail, levelheadedness, and strong communication. They also need to be knowledgeable about emergency care.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a nurse are more likely to require skills like "bls," "quality care," "infection control," and "surgery." On the other hand, a job as an emergency department registered nurse requires skills like "life support," "patient outcomes," "tncc," and "emergency room." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Emergency department registered nurses earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $77,094. On the other hand, nurses are paid more in the government industry with an average salary of $63,263.The education levels that emergency department registered nurses earn slightly differ from nurses. In particular, emergency department registered nurses are 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a nurse. Additionally, they're 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Nurse vs. Staff nurse for emergency department
A registered charge nurse is responsible for supervising nurses' workflow in a particular department or area, ensuring every patient gets the proper care that they need. A registered charge nurse has the discretion to direct tasks, arrange schedules, and monitor patients, such as in the aspects of admission and discharge. Furthermore, a registered charge nurse must maintain an active line of communication and coordination among nurses, physicians, and other personnel involved as the conditions in a hospital can be unpredictable.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that nurse responsibilities requires skills like "home health," "quality care," "infection control," and "triage." But a staff nurse for emergency department might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "tncc," "staff rn," "emergency room," and "enpc."
On average, staff nurse for emergency departments earn a higher salary than nurses. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, staff nurse for emergency departments earn the most pay in the health care industry with an average salary of $68,865. Whereas nurses have higher pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $63,263.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Staff nurse for emergency departments tend to reach similar levels of education than nurses. In fact, they're 1.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for nurses in the next 3-5 years?
Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D.
Associate Dean of the School of Nursing Professor of Nursing, Quinnipiac University
Nurse vs. Registered nurse charge nurse
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a nurse is likely to be skilled in "home health," "quality care," "surgery," and "appeals," while a typical registered nurse charge nurse is skilled in "resident care," "quality patient care," "patient flow," and "good communication."
Registered nurses charge nurses earn the best pay in the health care industry, where they command an average salary of $68,929. Nurses earn the highest pay from the government industry, with an average salary of $63,263.registered nurses charge nurses typically earn similar educational levels compared to nurses. Specifically, they're 2.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Nurse vs. Registered professional nurse
Even though a few skill sets overlap between nurses and registered professional nurses, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a nurse might have more use for skills like "quality care," "appeals," "medicaid," and "good judgment." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of registered professional nurses require skills like "healthcare professionals," "patient outcomes," "quality patient care," and "ventilation. "
The utilities industry tends to pay the highest salaries for registered professional nurses, with average annual pay of $64,620. Comparatively, the highest nurse annual salary comes from the government industry.The average resume of registered professional nurses showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to nurses. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 2.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.2%.Types of nurse
Updated January 8, 2025
