What does a student nurse do?
A Student Nurse is responsible for treating and taking care of a patient's needs while upholding all the rules and medical regulations of a hospital or clinic. They work and function under the supervision of a Clinical Instructor while still gaining practical experience. Furthermore, among the duties of a Student Nurse revolves around following guidelines given by superiors, administering medication according to schedule, dressing patients, handing meals and changing beds, gathering and charting data, and coordinating with the instructor at all times.
Student nurse responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real student nurse resumes:
- Manage surgical recovery patients including vascular, ENT, GI urological and neurological cases, coronary bypass surgery patients.
- Experience in plastics, general, podiatry, ortho, gyn, GI and pain services
- Administer intravenous infusions, PO, IM, IVP, SubQ prescriptions and monitoring patients for adverse reactions.
- Provide competent nursing care within scope of practice on the Med-Surg, and ICU floor as a student nurse.
- Experience inserting IVs, total patient care, charting, and logging with SRHS computer system on multiple MED-SURG units.
- Provide general patient care ADL's, administering dressing changes, providing nurses notes, and other aide duties for patient.
- Coordinate patient care for individuals during surgery by preparing and monitoring the operating room environment.
- Core area of responsibility include care of critically ill coronary patients including overflow ICU patients.
- Provide tracheostomy care to ventilator patients in order to promote skin integrity and prevent infection.
- Provide patient education and answer patient and family questions regarding surgery and what to expect after surgery.
- Aid in refining unit policies and procedures in areas of infection control to prevent catheter associate urinary tract infections.
- Complete clinical rotations in community care, medical-surgical, labor and delivery/postpartum, psychiatry, medicine/oncology, and telemetry units.
- Observe patients via telemetry rotation, ensuring patient safety and health while utilizing incomparable bedside care and treatment for telemetry patients.
- Assist in emergency medical procedure such as CPR in the emergency department.
- Assist transporters in moving patients in and out of stretchers and wheelchairs.
Student nurse skills and personality traits
We calculated that 26% of Student Nurses are proficient in Patients, Vital Signs, and Direct Patient Care. They’re also known for soft skills such as Critical-thinking skills, Communication skills, and Compassion.
We break down the percentage of Student Nurses that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 26%
Provided care to pediatric patients, including medication administration based on pediatric calculations, and treatments per institute protocol.
- Vital Signs, 9%
Provided basic care, including vital signs, hygienic and nutritional care to adults experiencing a variety of medical-surgical health alterations.
- Direct Patient Care, 6%
Practiced direct patient care, performed patient assessments, administered oral medication and gastric tube medication.
- Administer Medications, 4%
Focused heavily on mastering assessment skills including physical assessments and safety, and combining those skills to administer medications.
- IV, 4%
Established proficiency in IV insertion, safe administration and monitoring of pediatric and adult oral, intravenous, and intramuscular medications.
- CPR, 3%
Prepared to administer CPR in emergency situations.
"patients," "vital signs," and "direct patient care" are among the most common skills that student nurses use at work. You can find even more student nurse responsibilities below, including:
Critical-thinking skills. One of the key soft skills for a student nurse to have is critical-thinking skills. You can see how this relates to what student nurses do because "registered nurses must assess changes in the health status of patients, such as determining when to take corrective action." Additionally, a student nurse resume shows how student nurses use critical-thinking skills: "provide safe and effective patient care using critical-thinking skills. "
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling student nurse duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "registered nurses must be able to communicate effectively with patients in order to understand their concerns and evaluate their health conditions." According to a student nurse resume, here's how student nurses can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "utilized therapeutic communication during patient interactions in the crisis stabilization unit, and demonstrated analytical and holistic thinking during patient care. "
Compassion. student nurses are also known for compassion, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to student nurse responsibilities, because "registered nurses should be caring and empathetic when working with patients." A student nurse resume example shows how compassion is used in the workplace: "collaborated and consulted with medical team members to plan, implement and evaluate patient care plans while giving compassionate care. "
Detail oriented. A big part of what student nurses do relies on "detail oriented." You can see how essential it is to student nurse responsibilities because "registered nurses must be precise because they must ensure that patients get the correct treatments and medicines at the right time." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical student nurse tasks: "developed and executed detailed evidenced based care plans to orthopedic and trauma patients on a telemetry unit. "
Emotional stability. Another common skill required for student nurse responsibilities is "emotional stability." This skill comes up in the duties of student nurses all the time, as "registered nurses need emotional resilience and the ability to cope with human suffering, emergencies, and other stressors." An excerpt from a real student nurse resume shows how this skill is central to what a student nurse does: "completed full physical and emotional assessments on postpartum mothers and newborns. "
Organizational skills. While "organizational skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to student nurse responsibilities. Much of what a student nurse does relies on this skill, seeing as "nurses often work with multiple patients who have a variety of health needs." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of student nurses: "worked on east georgia's telemetry floor managing care of patients while advancing organizational skills and gaining greater independence. "
The three companies that hire the most student nurses are:
- University of Maryland Medical System57 student nurses jobs
- Sinai Chicago41 student nurses jobs
- Tenet Healthcare34 student nurses jobs
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Compare different student nurses
Student nurse vs. Preceptor
A clinical research nurse is responsible for conducting research studies on various health conditions, illness treatments, and healthcare methodologies, analyzing existing scientific research to make new reports. Clinical research nurses also communicate with other health professionals and health organizations for their insights and recommendations for a specific medical study, ensuring to report their findings to doctors and medical researchers for further validation and clinical trials. A clinical research nurse must have excellent knowledge of communication, both written and spoken, as well as expertise in the medical industry.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, student nurse responsibilities require skills like "administer medications," "med-surg," "wound care," and "infection control." Meanwhile a typical preceptor has skills in areas such as "epic," "primary care," "medication administration," and "internal medicine." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
The education levels that preceptors earn slightly differ from student nurses. In particular, preceptors are 4.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a student nurse. Additionally, they're 5.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Student nurse vs. Clinical research nurse
The job of a nurse extern is to assist the mentor nurse in their nursing duties. They help the mentor nurse in various medical procedures such as administering medications or starting intravenous therapies. They provide or help with personal patient care, including changing bed linens, oral hygiene, and bathing. Nurse externships typically have different requirements that include having finished nursing school, completing a clinical nursing course before the training, and being registered in a nursing program.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, student nurse responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "administer medications," "cpr," "med-surg," and "wound care." Meanwhile, a clinical research nurse has duties that require skills in areas such as "bls," "acls," "patient outcomes," and "compassion." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Clinical research nurses earn a higher average salary than student nurses. But clinical research nurses earn the highest pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $61,917. Additionally, student nurses earn the highest salaries in the health care with average pay of $48,578 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Clinical research nurses tend to reach similar levels of education than student nurses. In fact, they're 4.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 5.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for student nurses in the next 3-5 years?
Lisa Rebeschi Ph.D.
Associate Dean of the School of Nursing Professor of Nursing, Quinnipiac University
Student nurse vs. Nurse extern
A telemetry registered nurse is a healthcare professional who specializes in caring for patients with heart disease or other medical issues that require continuous telemetry monitoring. Telemetry registered nurses are required to read and monitor the output of electrocardiograms (EKGs), which translate the heart's electrical impulses into a readable rhythm. They must respond to patients who are experiencing cardiac pain and perform various diagnostic tests. Telemetry registered nurses must also assist doctors with different procedures and treatments for cardiac issues.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, student nurses are more likely to have skills like "administer medications," "med-surg," "wound care," and "mental health." But a nurse extern is more likely to have skills like "medical-surgical," "compassion," "medication administration," and "quality patient care."
Nurse externs earn the highest salary when working in the health care industry, where they receive an average salary of $39,085. Comparatively, student nurses have the highest earning potential in the health care industry, with an average salary of $48,578.Most nurse externs achieve a similar degree level compared to student nurses. For example, they're 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Student nurse vs. Telemetry registered nurse
Types of student nurse
Updated January 8, 2025
