Ms. Butler also keeps an eye on her patients' heart monitors and meets with doctors to discuss their care. Ms. Butler describes nurses as caretakers, advisors, supporters, teachers and friends to their patients. She says good nurses are assertive and have good communication skills. What We Do Nurses work in many places such as hospitals, schools, community health centers, nursing homes and the military. The most important jobs of the professional registered nurse are to assess, plan and give care for patients.
Nurses can specialize in certain areas, such as anesthesia, surgery or education.
They can also become midwives and deliver babies, work in hospital administration, or in the community as public health nurses. Registered nurses have to make decisions, organize and plan, and work well with people. Registered nurses check temperatures, pulse rates, blood pressures and other vital signs to evaluate a patient's progress. They record information from these observations on patient charts and recognize changes in patients' conditions that need special attention. Registered nurses prepare patients for and assist doctors during examinations.