Various Types of Medical Nurses
Nursing is probably one of the most sought after careers nowadays. It has become the largest sector in the healthcare industry and probably the ranks high in terms of income too. It is composed of many different specializations or fields.
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Registered Nurses or RN is the most flexible sector as they perform a vast variety of tasks like providing treatments, informing patients and their family members about the medical conditions as well as giving advices. An RN may opt to choose a specific area of health care related to a particular case, part of the body, type of patient (senior care, children, women), or a department in the hospital like the emergency room, intensive care unit, or nurse's station.
Certified Nurse Assistants or nurse's aids assist patients with their daily tasks and they work under the watch of a registered nurse. They also work in hospitals or nursing homes, private homes, and adult living houses. They are in a position to closely monitory the patient/s and report the registered nurse of any progress or change.
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A Travel Nurse is also an RN who is on travel assignments. They work in hospitals across the country over a certain perios and then move. A travel nurse is usually called upon when a certain hospital is having a shortage of nurses. They also may have different working conditions depending on the need of the hospital or living facility.
Licensed Practical Nurses are more trained than Certified Nurse Assistants but less than Registered Nurses. They assist patients with their daily activities such as taking baths, changing clothes, personal hygiene. LPN's provide bedside assistance like preparing and administering injections, taking vital signs, performing dressings, as well as monitoring the patient's overall condition. Some LPN's may help deliver and perform initial care for babies.
Public Health Nurses are those who have specialized training geared towards community health. They are RN's who may travel regularly to patient's houses, community health centers, schools, and day care centers where they closely work with individuals and families in finding or accessing solutions to community health problems.
Another higher type of RN is a Nurse Practicioner. These nurses have taken and finished additional courses and training on specific fields that allow them to function as a physician. They may work with or without the supervision of a doctor. A nurse practitioner may take on tasks in diagnosing and treating patients, and may even write prescriptions.
