What do registered nurses actually do?
These are just some of the things registered nurses would do:
- Identifying the needs of the patients care by establishing a relationship with them and understanding their needs;
- Establishing a compassionate environment to provide emotional and psychological support for the patients and families;
- Teaching the patients and families to look after themselves and promote independence for self-care;
- Making sure patients are clean, comfortable and happy;
- Taking blood pressure, bloods, checking heart rate, giving injections;
- Administering medication as prescribed by doctors;
- Solving patients problems by dealing with other teams;
- Documenting patient care in charts and records;
- Protecting sensitive information and maintaining patients confidence;
- Operating medical equipment;
- Maintaining adequate supplies of medical supplies and updating inventory;
What are the entry requirements?
For new entrants into a nursing career, a degree in nursing is essential. Other degrees may however accelerate studies, these include; social work, education, life or medical sciences, human biology, physiology, psychology or biomedical science.
To get onto a degree programme you would normally need five GCSEs with at least a grade C and two or three A-levels/Highers but different universities accept different requirements.
Work experience in some kind of care work would help although it is not essential.
What skills and attributes are required?
A nurse may need to highlight some of these skills:
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills;
- Ability to gain trust from others easily;
- Organisational skills;
- Managerial skills;
- Empathy;
- Good teamworking abilities;
- Flexibility;
- Emotional resilience.
What salary would I expect?
Starting salaries for nurses are under Band 5 of the NHS pay rate offering around £21,000 and rising to £28,000. At a senior level, you would expect your salary to go up to anything from £30,000 to £100,000 and this would fall under Band 7-9. Rates differ according to location.
The NHS pays staff for unsocial hours which include Sundays and Bank Holidays. You would get paid plus 60% extra.
What would my hours be?
Working hours are regularly unsociable and include weekend and evening/night shifts. There are becoming more options for a more standard working day if you choose to work within the community or in industry or commerce.
Is there career progression?
From a nursing position in a hospital environment it is common to move onto being a junior sister or charge nurse. There are management opportunities which you can choose to take which would involve less hands-on nursing activities.
Depending on knowledge and skills, it is natural progression to become ward sister, ward manager and then team leader. Then it is possible to specialise to become a nurse practitioner and then a nurse consultant and then finally to a director of nursing. When specialising there are many paths to take including occupational health nurse, cancer care, women's health, sexual health nurse etc
What training would I receive?
There is various training available to nurses which include distance learning, posts to universities and in-service training. Plus there is training available in the areas of specialisms.
Nurses must undertake continuing professional development (CPD) to maintain their registration known as PREP. It includes a minimum of 5 days or 35 hours of learning over a 3 year period.
Where do I look for registered nurse roles?
That’s simple; just click on this link to find the latest registered nurse roles in your location.
Search for registered nurse roles here.
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Browse through other health-related jobs here.
Find out information about other health-related jobs here.
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