subject: A Typical Working Day For An Rn To Msn Nurse [print this page] No one nurse's working experience is like any other nurse's experience. A typical day of two nurses who work in the same hospital will be vastly different, even if they work in the same department. And, if one nurse works in the ER and the other works as a nurse manager, their days will be even more different from each other.
Nurses who have moved from RN to MSN degree also will have very different duties. A nurse has received training from associate to masters in nursing training can move into administration, policy making and other leadership roles.
Nurses with "just" a Registered Nurse (RN) license, even if he has earned an associate's degree in nursing (ADN), usually work "on the floor" in direct patient care.
Still, there are plenty of similarities for all nurses. All work extremely hard. Many work long hours, especially in the beginning of their nursing career, and often find themselves working nights, weekends and holidays.
A general practice nurse working in a hospital usually cares for six or seven patients a day. During that time the nurse will give patients their medications, possibly help prepare them for surgery or other procedures, bathe patients, dress and treat wounds, speak to the patients' physicians to give updates, start an IV, document all procedures performed for or on a patient -- and do it all again for each and every patient.
If a nurse works in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) she may not have as many patients, but these individuals will be very sick and possibly in critical condition. A nurse who has moved from RN to MSN may work here, as patients in an ICU require highly skilled assessments. High level protocols for patient care also are in place in ICUs and must be followed to the letter.
ADN to MSN degreed nurses can work in nursing administration. A typical day for a nurse administrator such as a director of nurses will be formulating policy and overseeing the financial administration the nursing department. Nursing supervisors, unit managers, staff educators and clinical specialists -- who sometimes have moved from the associate to masters of nursing level themselves -- support the director, working as a team to meet the needs of their patients as well as the department's goals.
A nurse with a master's degree may not have as much direct patient contact, but she works just as hard as a "floor" nurse. In addition, most floor nurses are paid by the hour, while a nursing manager is on salary, so he receives no extra compensation for the extra hours he works.
