Being a staff nurse means shouldering numerous responsibilities. Depending on the field they belong to, such nurses are known either as Registered General Nurse (RGN), or Registered Mental Nurse (RMN).
RMN is appointed at the psychiatric clinic while RGN is appointed in general hospitals and do not have any specializations. Staff nurses are also appointed at different settings. It depends on their field of specialization. They work in homes or in community health clinics or in hospitals.
A staff nurse working in hospital is appointed either in In-Patient Unit, or Out-Patient Unit, or Intensive Care Unit. There are also other departments where such nurses work. Each department has its own set of responsibilities. However, as a staff nurse, you should be competent enough to handle the general responsibilities of this field.
The chief work of staff nurses is to look after the patients. Well-being of the patients is the responsibility of nurse. Besides this, as a nurse, you will be expected to carry out regular check-ups or assessing the condition of patient and reporting it to the doctor. Apart from this, staff nurses have to make provision for patients’ treatments. It’s the nurse’s responsibility to continue treatment as scheduled in order to get the desired results in patient. Thus, it’s not wrong to say that the recovery of patients is partly attributed to the role of nurse.
Simply knowledge about the field is not enough. As a staff nurse, you should possess good communication skills. This is because you need to make patients understand the treatment for their condition, besides making them feel comfortable. Only then can a nurse do his or her job well.
Staff nurses generally work in teams. It’s their duty to formulate and implement policies for nursing care in the interest of patients. The teams are responsible to assess the ongoing practices and, if needed, make any improvement in the care provided by the hospital or clinic. The leaders of such teams are Senior Staff Nurses. They inspect the overall work of the team members.
It’s not just looking after patients and maintaining clinical hygiene that is done by nurses. They are also entitled to maintain patient’s medical record. Staff nurses have to treat every patient as a separate case study. By doing so, they can have a deeper insight into the health aspects of the particular patient and assist him or her better in recovery. Staff nurses are not only required to report observations of patient’s condition and other vital information to the senior staff, but also are required to do so to the relatives of the patient.
It’s not easy being a staff nurse. However, there’s no doubt that it’s an exciting and challenging profession, not mentioning the noble task you carry out of serving your fellow human beings. So, if you want to be associated with the medical field without being called a doctor, be a staff nurse!
© 2008 Nursing Daily.