REGISTERED NURSES (RN) constitute the largest group among all the health occupations. Most RNs work in acute care hospitals as hospital nurses. They care for patients at the hospital bedside, in private clinics, and in the patient's home. Nurses may also work to help prevent disease, to educate the public about health issues, to enhance public health, and to support ill patients both physically and mentally.

Hospital Nurses make up the largest group of nurses. They perform the following tasks:

• Provide bedside care for hospital in-patients.
• Monitor all aspects of patient care, including diet and physical activity.
• Administer treatment and give medications to patients under the direction of physicians.
• Observe the patient, assess and record symptoms, and note reactions and progress.
• Develop and manage nursing care plans and instruct patients and caregivers in how to perform tasks they can do themselves.

Office Nurses work in doctor's offices, clinics, emergency care centers, and Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO). They perform the following tasks:

• Prepare patients for and administer physical examinations.
• Dress wounds, give injections or medicines, and assist in minor surgeries.
• May help with the management of the office and supervise other staff.

Home Health Nurses provide health care in patient's homes. They perform the following tasks:

• Travel to patient's homes and administer medications, check the physical and mental condition of patients, and instruct the patient on proper home care.
• Educate the patient and family in various aspects of home health. Nurses may teach, counsel, and demonstrate skills.
• Act as an intermediary between the physician, hospital, staff, and the patient.
• May supervise other home health workers.

Public Health Nurses work for governmental agencies, schools, clinics, and retirement communities. They work to better the health conditions for the general public. Instead of administering care to the individual, their mission is to enhance the overall health of the community at large. They perform the following tasks:

• Work in concert with local governments to remedy health problems that are present in the community.
• They lecture groups on healthy living, disease prevention, nutrition, and how to identify health risks in the community.
• Arrange immunization clinics, blood pressure testing, cholesterol level testing, and other health screening clinics.
• Work with pregnant women to ensure proper prenatal care.
• Work to decrease the incidence of infectious diseases and assist in quarantine efforts. Make field investigations and help in epidemiological health studies.

NURSE PRACTITIONERS are Registered Nurses with graduate level training in diagnostic and health assessment skills. Their training allows them to provide basic medical care. They relieve physicians of many time consuming tasks. Under the direction of a supervising physician, they perform the following tasks:

• Interview patients, take medical histories, perform physical examinations, order laboratory tests, make tentative diagnoses, and prescribe appropriate treatments.
• Prescribe medication and medical devices if they have a Nurse Practitioner Furnishing certificate.
• Refer patients to physicians for consultation or to specialized health resources for treatment.

• Speaking - Talking to others to effectively convey information.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react the way they do.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Weighing the relative costs and benefits of a potential action.
• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health care measures.
• Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal living tissue, cells, organisms, and entities, including their functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services including needs assessment techniques, quality service standards, alternative delivery systems, and customer satisfaction evaluation techniques.
• Chemistry - Knowledge of the composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches.

Nurses generally work in hospitals and clinics in a comfortable and well-lighted environment. Although most tasks are not strenuous, Nurses do need physical stamina to perform their duties. They also need emotional stability to cope with human suffering and frequent emergencies. Since they work as part of a closely-knit team, they must work well with others in a cooperative setting.

Dangers from infectious agents are also part of the work environment. Diseases such as AIDS, hepatitis, and tuberculosis present the possibility of infection to the RN. Strictly following procedures can lessen, but not eliminate disease transmission.

A few Registered Nurses work as members of emergency response teams. They may treat patients while enroute by helicopter to hospitals or at triage centers at disaster sites, such as earthquakes or floods.

Nurse-Midwives, licensed to provide care and treatment to pregnant women, often deliver babies in patients' homes. In addition to hospitals, Nurses work for doctors and medical groups, public health agencies, and home care services.

Registered Nurses may belong to a union. One such union is the California Nurses Association.

The number of jobs for Registered Nurses is expected to grow at a rate slightly above the average for all occupations through 2008 in California.

The State Board of Registered Nursing reports that there were about 250,000 licensed RNs in California in 2001. The Board also reports that there were slightly more than 9,500 Nurse Practitioners. Despite this large number, shortages still exist and shortages are expected to occur over the next 10 years. This is due to workers leaving and re-entering several times during their career. Hospital and clinics continue to have ongoing, active recruitment programs, some offering unique benefits, to attract applicants.

Some Health Maintenance Organizations employ Nurse Practitioners in addition to physicians. This trend, which has heightened the demand for Nurse Practitioners, should continue as HMOs become common. Competition may be keen for the higher paying jobs in large cities.