Hospital Nurse - Tasks and specialisations
Tapuhi Hōhipera
Tasks & duties
Hospital nurses may do some or all of the following depending on their area of specialisation:
- take a comprehensive nursing history (to find out how the patient has been nursed in the past) and plan appropriate care to meet identified needs
- discuss, plan and carry out nursing care to improve patients' health
- monitor the condition of patients and record important changes
- provide nursing treatment and therapy, and patient-centred care
- give and monitor medications and intravenous drugs
- educate patients and their families about health needs
- check equipment and supplies
- arrange discharge planning
- arrange for patients to have treatment and/or care after they have been discharged from hospital
- direct and delegate to second-level nurses and caregivers
- work with other health professionals to meet the needs of patients' caregivers, whānau and supporters.
Sarah Pickery checking on a patient
Joane Hartley recording a patient's details
Specialisations
Nursing is a broad discipline and most nurses employed in a hospital will develop skills in a specialist area of nursing practice. This may include areas such as:
- mental health
- midwifery
- child health
- aged care
- cancer nursing
- intensive care
- operating theatre
- community health
- workplace health and safety.
Updated
September 2009
