- Administer medications, including those administered by injection.
Occupations with related tasks Save Table: XLSX CSV
- Respond to emergency situations by providing airway management, administering emergency fluids or drugs, or using basic or advanced cardiac life support techniques.
- Select, order, or administer anesthetics, adjuvant drugs, accessory drugs, fluids or blood products as necessary.
- Prepare prescribed solutions and administer local, intravenous, spinal, or other anesthetics, following specified methods and procedures.
- Administer post-anesthesia medications or fluids to support patients' cardiovascular systems.
- Select, order, or administer pre-anesthetic medications.
- Perform or manage regional anesthetic techniques, such as local, spinal, epidural, caudal, nerve blocks and intravenous blocks.
- Insert peripheral or central intravenous catheters.
- Manage patients' airway or pulmonary status, using techniques such as endotracheal intubation, mechanical ventilation, pharmacological support, respiratory therapy, and extubation.
- Monitor patients' responses, including skin color, pupil dilation, pulse, heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, ventilation, or urine output, using invasive and noninvasive techniques.
- Select, prepare, or use equipment, monitors, supplies, or drugs for the administration of anesthetics.
- Assess patients' medical histories to predict anesthesia response.
- Develop anesthesia care plans.
- Obtain informed consent from patients for anesthesia procedures.
- Perform pre-anesthetic screenings, including physical evaluations and patient interviews, and document results.
- Calibrate and test anesthesia equipment.
- Evaluate patients' post-surgical or post-anesthesia responses, taking appropriate corrective actions or requesting consultation if complications occur.
- Select and prescribe post-anesthesia medications or treatments to patients.
- Perform or evaluate the results of diagnostic tests, such as radiographs (x-rays) and electrocardiograms (EKGs).
- Insert arterial catheters or perform arterial punctures to obtain arterial blood samples.
- Discharge patients from post-anesthesia care.
- Read current literature, talk with colleagues, and participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in nursing.
- Request anesthesia equipment repairs, adjustments, or safety tests.
- Instruct nurses, residents, interns, students, or other staff on topics such as anesthetic techniques, pain management and emergency responses.
- Disassemble and clean anesthesia equipment.
- Respond to emergency situations by providing airway management, administering emergency fluids or drugs, or using basic or advanced cardiac life support techniques.
- Select, order, or administer anesthetics, adjuvant drugs, accessory drugs, fluids or blood products as necessary.
- Prepare prescribed solutions and administer local, intravenous, spinal, or other anesthetics, following specified methods and procedures.
- Administer post-anesthesia medications or fluids to support patients' cardiovascular systems.
- Select, order, or administer pre-anesthetic medications.
- Perform or manage regional anesthetic techniques, such as local, spinal, epidural, caudal, nerve blocks and intravenous blocks.
- Insert peripheral or central intravenous catheters.
- Administer drugs, orally or by injection, or perform intravenous procedures.
- Perform emergency pharmacological interventions.
- Administer first aid treatment or life support care to sick or injured persons in prehospital settings.
- Assess nature and extent of illness or injury to establish and prioritize medical procedures.
- Attend training classes to maintain certification licensure, keep abreast of new developments in the field, or maintain existing knowledge.
- Comfort and reassure patients.
- Coordinate with treatment center personnel to obtain patients' vital statistics and medical history, to determine the circumstances of the emergency, and to administer emergency treatment.
- Coordinate work with other emergency medical team members or police or fire department personnel.
- Instruct emergency medical response team about emergency interventions to ensure correct application of procedures.
- Observe, record, and report to physician the patient's condition or injury, the treatment provided, and reactions to drugs or treatment.
- Operate equipment, such as electrocardiograms (EKGs), external defibrillators, or bag valve mask resuscitators, in advanced life support environments.
- Perform emergency cardiac care, such as cardioversion and manual defibrillation.
- Perform emergency invasive intervention before delivering patient to an acute care facility.
- Administer drugs, orally or by injection, or perform intravenous procedures.
- Perform emergency pharmacological interventions.
- Postoperatively inject a subcutaneous local anesthetic agent to reduce pain.
- Prepare and apply sterile wound dressings.
- Assist in applying casts, splints, braces, or similar devices.
- Insert or remove urinary bladder catheters.
- Assist in volume replacement or autotransfusion techniques.
- Verify the identity of patient or operative site.
- Monitor and maintain aseptic technique throughout procedures.
- Cover patients with surgical drapes to create and maintain a sterile operative field.
- Coordinate or participate in the positioning of patients, using body stabilizing equipment or protective padding to provide appropriate exposure for the procedure or to protect against nerve damage or circulation impairment.
- Maintain an unobstructed operative field, using surgical retractors, sponges, or suctioning and irrigating equipment.
- Apply sutures, staples, clips, or other materials to close skin, facia, or subcutaneous wound layers.
- Discuss with surgeon the nature of the surgical procedure, including operative consent, methods of operative exposure, diagnostic or laboratory data, or patient-advanced directives or other needs.
- Determine availability of necessary equipment or supplies for operative procedures.
- Clamp, ligate, or cauterize blood vessels to control bleeding during surgical entry, using hemostatic clamps, suture ligatures, or electrocautery equipment.
- Assist with patient resuscitation during cardiac arrest or other life-threatening events.
- Obtain or inspect sterile or non-sterile surgical equipment, instruments, or supplies.
- Operate sterilizing devices.
- Pass instruments or supplies to surgeon during procedure.
- Monitor patient intra-operative status, including patient position, vital signs, or volume and color of blood.
- Assist in the insertion, positioning, or suturing of closed-wound drainage systems.
- Assist members of surgical team with gowning or gloving.
- Gather, arrange, or assemble instruments or supplies.
- Coordinate with anesthesia personnel to maintain patient temperature.
- Transport patients to operating room.
- Remove patient hair or disinfect incision sites to prepare patient for surgery.
- Incise tissue layers in lower extremities to harvest veins.
- Postoperatively inject a subcutaneous local anesthetic agent to reduce pain.
- Prepare and apply sterile wound dressings.
- Assist in applying casts, splints, braces, or similar devices.
- Insert or remove urinary bladder catheters.
- Assist in volume replacement or autotransfusion techniques.
- Administer prescribed medications or start intravenous fluids, noting times and amounts on patients' charts.
- Provide basic patient care or treatments, such as taking temperatures or blood pressures, dressing wounds, treating bedsores, giving enemas or douches, rubbing with alcohol, massaging, or performing catheterizations.
- Observe patients, charting and reporting changes in patients' conditions, such as adverse reactions to medication or treatment, and taking any necessary action.
- Measure and record patients' vital signs, such as height, weight, temperature, blood pressure, pulse, or respiration.
- Supervise nurses' aides or assistants.
- Evaluate nursing intervention outcomes, conferring with other healthcare team members as necessary.
- Work as part of a healthcare team to assess patient needs, plan and modify care, and implement interventions.
- Record food and fluid intake and output.
- Assemble and use equipment, such as catheters, tracheotomy tubes, or oxygen suppliers.
- Collect samples, such as blood, urine, or sputum from patients, and perform routine laboratory tests on samples.
- Prepare or examine food trays for conformance to prescribed diet.
- Help patients with bathing, dressing, maintaining personal hygiene, moving in bed, or standing and walking.
- Prepare patients for examinations, tests, or treatments and explain procedures.
- Apply compresses, ice bags, or hot water bottles.
- Provide medical treatment or personal care to patients in private home settings, such as cooking, keeping rooms orderly, seeing that patients are comfortable and in good spirits, or instructing family members in simple nursing tasks.
- Sterilize equipment and supplies, using germicides, sterilizer, or autoclave.
- Make appointments, keep records, or perform other clerical duties in doctors' offices or clinics.
- Set up equipment and prepare medical treatment rooms.
- Clean rooms and make beds.
- Inventory and requisition supplies and instruments.
- Assist in delivery, care, or feeding of infants.
- Administer prescribed medications or start intravenous fluids, noting times and amounts on patients' charts.
- Provide basic patient care or treatments, such as taking temperatures or blood pressures, dressing wounds, treating bedsores, giving enemas or douches, rubbing with alcohol, massaging, or performing catheterizations.
- Administer medications intravenously, by injection, orally, through gastric tubes, or by other methods.
- Administer blood and blood products, monitoring patients for signs and symptoms related to transfusion reactions.
- Evaluate patients' vital signs or laboratory data to determine emergency intervention needs.
- Monitor patients for changes in status and indications of conditions such as sepsis or shock and institute appropriate interventions.
- Monitor patients' fluid intake and output to detect emerging problems, such as fluid and electrolyte imbalances.
- Prioritize nursing care for assigned critically ill patients, based on assessment data or identified needs.
- Compile and analyze data obtained from monitoring or diagnostic tests.
- Conduct pulmonary assessments to identify abnormal respiratory patterns or breathing sounds that indicate problems.
- Assess patients' pain levels or sedation requirements.
- Collaborate with other health care professionals to develop and revise treatment plans, based on identified needs and assessment data.
- Document patients' medical histories and assessment findings.
- Collect specimens for laboratory tests.
- Set up and monitor medical equipment and devices such as cardiac monitors, mechanical ventilators and alarms, oxygen delivery devices, transducers, or pressure lines.
- Advocate for patients' and families' needs, or provide emotional support for patients and their families.
- Assess family adaptation levels and coping skills to determine whether intervention is needed.
- Assist physicians with procedures such as bronchoscopy, endoscopy, endotracheal intubation, or elective cardioversion.
- Supervise and monitor unit nursing staff.
- Identify malfunctioning equipment or devices.
- Document patients' treatment plans, interventions, outcomes, or plan revisions.
- Assess patients' psychosocial status and needs, including areas such as sleep patterns, anxiety, grief, anger, and support systems.
- Identify patients' age-specific needs and alter care plans as necessary to meet those needs.
- Participate in professional organizations and continuing education to improve practice knowledge and skills.
- Participate in the development, review, or evaluation of nursing practice protocols.
- Plan, provide, or evaluate educational programs for nursing staff, interdisciplinary health care team members, or community members.
- Administer medications intravenously, by injection, orally, through gastric tubes, or by other methods.
- Administer blood and blood products, monitoring patients for signs and symptoms related to transfusion reactions.
- Perform therapeutic procedures, such as injections, immunizations, suturing and wound care, and infection management.
- Make tentative diagnoses and decisions about management and treatment of patients.
- Interpret diagnostic test results for deviations from normal.
- Prescribe therapy or medication with physician approval.
- Obtain, compile, and record patient medical data, including health history, progress notes, and results of physical examination.
- Examine patients to obtain information about their physical condition.
- Administer or order diagnostic tests, such as x-ray, electrocardiogram, and laboratory tests.
- Instruct and counsel patients about prescribed therapeutic regimens, normal growth and development, family planning, emotional problems of daily living, and health maintenance.
- Visit and observe patients on hospital rounds or house calls, updating charts, ordering therapy, and reporting back to physician.
- Provide physicians with assistance during surgery or complicated medical procedures.
- Supervise and coordinate activities of technicians and technical assistants.
- Order medical and laboratory supplies and equipment.
- Perform therapeutic procedures, such as injections, immunizations, suturing and wound care, and infection management.
- Administer oral medications or hypodermic injections, following physician's prescriptions and hospital procedures.
- Take and record measures of patients' physical condition, using devices such as thermometers or blood pressure gauges.
- Monitor patients' physical and emotional well-being and report unusual behavior or physical ailments to medical staff.
- Provide nursing, psychiatric, or personal care to mentally ill, emotionally disturbed, or mentally retarded patients.
- Observe and influence patients' behavior, communicating and interacting with them and teaching, counseling, or befriending them.
- Collaborate with or assist doctors, psychologists, or rehabilitation therapists in working with mentally ill, emotionally disturbed, or developmentally disabled patients to treat, rehabilitate, and return patients to the community.
- Encourage patients to develop work skills and to participate in social, recreational, or other therapeutic activities that enhance interpersonal skills or develop social relationships.
- Restrain violent, potentially violent, or suicidal patients by verbal or physical means as required.
- Train or instruct new employees on procedures to follow with psychiatric patients.
- Develop or teach strategies to promote client wellness and independence.
- Issue medications from dispensary and maintain records in accordance with specified procedures.
- Aid patients in performing tasks, such as bathing or keeping beds, clothing, or living areas clean.
- Lead prescribed individual or group therapy sessions as part of specific therapeutic procedures.
- Interview new patients to complete admission forms, to assess their mental health status, or to obtain their mental health and treatment history.
- Escort patients to medical appointments.
- Contact patients' relatives to arrange family conferences.
- Administer oral medications or hypodermic injections, following physician's prescriptions and hospital procedures.
