Institute:Office of National Coordinator (ONC) Workforce Training Curriculum
Component:The Culture of Health Care
Unit:Nursing Care Processes
Lecture:Nursing roles, responsibilities, and work settings
Slide content:What Do Nurses Do? Provide direct and indirect patient care: Deliver direct, hands-on patient care Screen, assess, and monitor patients Perform or assist physicians with procedures Administer medication Write prescriptions (if licensed) Coordinate care activities with other caregivers RNs supervise LPNs, CNAs, and potentially other caregivers 4
Slide notes:This lecture discusses nursing roles, responsibilities, and work settings. It also describes what nurses do, how they are trained, and where they work. Nurses fill a wide range of roles within health care, but usually they focus on caring for patients and teaching others about health issues. Many nurses provide direct patient care. Depending on their training and expertise, nurses might assist a patient with personal care, such as with dressing or bathing; provide care for a health problem, such as changing the dressing on a patients wound; screen a patient for diseases; assist doctors with procedures; or give a patient medication. Some highly trained nurses, such as nurse practitioners, may even write prescriptions depending on the scope of state licensure. The degree of direct patient care that nurses provide varies according to their job position and the provider type. For example, in a hospital inpatient setting, a certified nursing assistant, or CNA [C-N-A], may provide much of the care related to activities of daily living. The CNA frees up the nurse to focus on skilled care activities, such as medication administration, procedures, and wound care, as well as management duties. A CNA is one who has received training and education in patient care that resulted in a certification. CNAs are not licensed professionals and must work with direct supervision. 4