Explore A Career As A Registered Nurse

Learn about how registered nurses can make a difference in the lives of their patients, and discover the many advantages of becoming a registered nurse.

Working as a registered nurse (RN) can be a very rewarding career where people make a meaningful difference in the lives of others while still earning a good living. Typically, RNs interact with patients more often than almost any other member of the health care team, and the care that they provide their patients has a lasting impact. RN careers are in high demand, and the demand for these positions is expected to grow. 

A career as an RN is ideal for someone willing to work hard in their education but wants to work in clinical practice after three to four years. A position as an RN is best suited for someone with the mental aptitude to complete a complex bachelor’s level degree and a caring and empathetic personality.

What Is an RN?

An RN is a licensed health care provider who provides patient care by assessing and monitoring patients. They also provide medications or treatments ordered by a physician, nurse practitioner (NP) or physician assistant (PA). RNs are also responsible for managing patients’ care and help to supervise licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and certified nursing assistants (CNAs).

RNs often work in hospitals, but they may also work in a variety of other environments, such as addiction rehab centers, nursing homes, home care organizations and doctor’s offices. In addition to clinical work, RNs may work for insurance companies, work as clinical case workers or help lawyers with medical cases.

Areas of Nursing for RNs

There are many areas of health care that RNs can find good careers in. Some of the more common areas of nursing may include:

• Critical care nursing 
• Addiction rehab nursing
• Emergency nursing
• Medical/surgical nursing
• Cardiac nursing
• Surgical nursing
• Pediatric nursing
• Labor and delivery nursing
• Geriatric nursing

There are many other areas that RNs may specialize in, and the scope of RN roles continues to expand.

A Registered Nurse’s Role in Substance Rehabilitation

RNs are a vital part of the team in a substance abuse rehab center. RNs will constantly be monitoring each patient, especially during the initial phases of withdrawal. The rest of the team will rely on the RN’s assessment for understanding how patients are doing throughout the day. RNs will also provide medications and other treatments as ordered by the doctor, and they may need to ask the providers to write new orders based on their assessments.

What Distinguishes RNs From Other Health Care Providers?

The main distinctions of an RN that separate their scope from other providers is that they are permitted to independently assess a patient and provide treatments ordered by a provider; however, they are not permitted to diagnose and order tests or medications. This creates several differences compared to other health care providers:

• LPNs: LPNs are not formally allowed to assess patients and determine the significance of clinical data. LPNs are also required to provide treatments and administer medications under the supervision of an RN. There are also some more complicated tasks that LPNs are not permitted to do.
• PAs and NPs: PAs and NPs are allowed to diagnose patients and order tests and medications — things that RNs are not permitted to do. While NPs and PAs may rely heavily on an RN’s assessments, the RN will only be able to perform treatments and administer medications that are ordered by these providers.
• Physicians: From an RN’s perspective, there is not a significant difference between PAs, NPs and the physicians who supervise them. RNs will need physicians to order medications and tests, and they will only be able to perform the treatments that physicians order.

How to Become a Registered Nurse

Becoming an RN can be hard but rewarding work. The important role that RNs play and the life-and-death decisions that they have to make on a regular basis require a high level of training and experience.

Examination and Licensure 

There are three different paths of education that someone can take to become an RN. These include:

• An associate’s degree
• A diploma program
• A bachelor’s degree

The associate’s or diploma programs will typically take about three years, including the prerequisite, and a bachelor’s degree will take four years. RNs with a bachelor’s degree will typically have better opportunities available to them than those without one, and they will be better positioned to pursue ongoing education.

Examination and Licensure 

Once a person has completed their education to become an RN, they will still need to pass the nationally recognized NCLEX-RN exam. Passing this exam is required in every state before licensure as an RN is granted. The computer-based test is an adaptive test that contains 75–265 questions and lasts six hours. 

Once the person has passed their NCLEX-RN exam, they will need to obtain licensure from the state they wish to practice in. Many times, people will apply for licensure prior to passing the NCLEX-RN, and the state will approve their application as soon as they have received the passing results.

Employment

After someone has successfully completed the education, exam and licensure process of becoming an RN, they will need to find employment. The area that an RN practices in can determine what their specialty is and how their career can continue to develop. Finding a job in the RN’s desired specialty will be important for their career development. Some positions, such as critical care nursing, will often not be immediately available, and new RNs typically have to work their way up to the more advanced nursing positions.