Contemporary Nursing Roles

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Contemporary Nursing Roles
May 1, 2003
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Characteristics of Todays Nurses

• 3 million RNs in the United States
• 60 employed full-time
• Average age is 45.2 years (2000)
• Male RNs increased from 5.4 in 1996 to 5.9 in
  2000
• Approximately 86.6 of RNs are white/non-Hispanic

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Educational Levels

• Nursing graduates in 2000
• 40.3 associates degree
• 29.6 baccalaureate degree
• 29.3 diploma
• Highest degree reported in 2000
• 22.3 diploma
• 34.3 associates degree
• 7 baccalaureate degree
• 10 masters or doctoral degree

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Work Settings

• Acute care remains predominant worksite
• 59.1 of RNs reported working in hospitals in
  2000
• Outpatient settings rapidly increasing
• Other sites
• Health maintenance organizations (HMOs)
• Public health
• Home health
• Many community agencies

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Hospital Opportunities

• Specific patient services
• Extensive list depending on the hospital
• Infection control
• Assesses incidence of infections and conducts
  comprehensive reviews
• Must have knowledge of epidimiology and
  outstanding interpersonal skills
• Quality management
• Assesses compliance with established standards
• Benchmarking activities

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Hospital Opportunities

• Various coordinator positions
• Organ donor coordinator
• Education coordinator
• Trauma nurse coordinator

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Variations on Traditional Nursing Roles

• Home care
• Role of community health nurse has evolved beyond
  traditional public health nurse concept
• Has expanded roles including dobutamine
  administration, chemotherapy, radiographs or
  telemetry, and uterine monitoring
• Hospice nurse
• Provides holistic treatment for the patient with
  progressive terminal disease
• Emphasis on quality of life not quantity of life
  remaining

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Variations on Traditional Nursing Rolescontd

• Informatics nurse specialist
• Manages and processes health care information
• Occupational health nurse
• Designs and implements programs for health
  promotion and disease prevention for businesses
  and industries
• Assists with immediate health needs as necessary
• Assessment of work environment to ensure safety

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Variations on Traditional Nursing Rolescontd

• Quality Manager
• Assesses opportunities for process improvement,
  implements changes, and measures outcomes
• Case manager
• Coordinates resources to achieve health care
  outcomes based on access, quality, and cost
• Identifies the best resources at the lowest cost
  to achieve optimum health for the patient

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Variations on Traditional Nursing Rolescontd

• Flight nurse
• Establishes autonomous practice and has the
  opportunity to use advanced clinical skills can
  be military or civilian
• Telephone triage nurse
• Interacts with patients on the telephone to
  assess needs, intervene, and evaluate

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Variations on Traditional Nursing Rolescontd

• Forensic nurse
• Applies nursing science to public or legal
  proceedings in the scientific investigation and
  treatment of trauma and/or death of victims of
  violence, abuse, criminal activity or traumatic
  accidents
• One of the fastest growing specialties
• Parish nurse
• Focuses on health promotion within the beliefs,
  values, and practices of faith communities

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Advanced Practice Nursing

• Nurse practitioner
• Clinical nurse specialist
• Certified registered nurse anesthetist
• Certified nurse midwife
• Nurse administrator/nurse executive

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Nurse Practitioner

• Assesses and manages nursing and medical problems
  with emphasis on disease prevention and health
  promotion
• Takes histories and conducts physical
  examinations
• Orders, performs, and interprets diagnostic tests
• Prescribes pharmacologic agents, treatments, and
  therapies
• Advanced education with emphasis on
  pathophysiology and pharmacology

14
Clinical Nurse Specialist

• Possesses clinical expertise in a defined area of
  nursing practice for a selected patient
  population or clinical setting
• Functions as an expert clinician, educator,
  consultant, researcher, and administrator

15
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist

• Provides anesthesia and anesthesia-related care
  on request, assignment, or referral by a
  patients physician
• Facilitates diagnostic, therapeutic, or surgical
  procedures

16
Certified Nurse Midwife

• Manages womens health care
• Focuses particularly on
• Pregnancy and childbirth
• Postpartum care
• Care of the newborn
• Family planning
• Gynecologic needs of women

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Nurse Administrator/Nurse Executive

• Unites the leadership perspective of professional
  nursing with business and health care
  administration
• Focuses on the administration of health care
  systems for the purpose of delivering services to
  groups of patients

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Influences on Future Employment

• Technologic advances
• Increased emphasis on primary care, disease
  prevention, and health promotion
• Rapid growth of outpatient facilities
• Continuing growth in home health
• Financial pressures forcing use of skilled
  nursing facilities, nursing homes, and
  rehabilitation units
• Growing elderly population