Unique Nursing Skills That Distinguish Nurses From Aides

Health care is a fast-growing industry, and qualified workers in all areas are in high demand. Nurses normally work under the direction of physicians and nursing aides under the direction of nurses. All health care positions are important. Nurses and nursing aides have direct patient contact and contribute directly to the patient's physical and mental well-being. The two jobs differ, as the nurse is expected to have more education, training and medical skills than the nursing aide.

Hospital Care

• Registered Nurses (RNs) working on the hospital floor are expected to have the skills to establish or contribute to the establishment of patient's care plans. Plans may consist of administering medication, verifying dosages and avoiding interactions, implementing and maintaining intravenous lines, administering therapies and taking and recording vital signs. The RN's responsibilities include careful patient observation and treatment discussions with the physician based upon the observations.

  Nursing aides need the skills to perform valuable patient care duties under the direction of nurses. Some aides may administer medications, assist patients with bathing, walking, exercising and eating, collect specimens such as urine and feces and apply dressings. The aide may be expected to answer patients' call signals, calm and reassure the patient and report any observed change in the patient's health or demeanor to the nurse.

Emergency Room

• RNs work as emergency or trauma nurses and have the training and skills to provide initial assessment and care. Trauma nurses are often authorized to perform life-sustaining emergency procedures such as tracheotomies or CPR while awaiting the physician. Trauma nurses may also serve as transport nurses providing emergency care to patients being taken to a medical facility by helicopter or airplane.

  Nursing aides perform a vital role in the emergency room as well. They are responsible for moving the patient into treatment rooms as well as answering the patient call signals. Aides also assist the patient with personal cleanliness activities including assisting with a trip to the restroom or supplying bed pans and urinals. In some cases, aides may be asked to perform or assist with catheterizations or dressing wounds.

Operating Theater

• Nurses also work as surgical nurses in the hospital's operating theater. In the pre-surgery room, surgical nurses prepare the patient with the necessary IV fluids, evaluate and monitor the patient's condition. Perianesthesia nurses work with anesthesiologist prior to surgery, monitor the patient during surgery and perform postoperative care. Perioperative nurses work with the surgeon during the procedure by selecting and handling the surgical instruments, controlling bleeding and suturing the incision.

  Aides perform preoperation tasks such as shaving, cleaning and marking the area to be cut, taking care of patient's personal needs while in the preoperating room and moving the patient into the operating room. After surgery, the aide may assist with moving the patient into the recovery area and from recovery to a hospital room.

Home Health Care

• Nurses involved in home health care generally work under the direction of a physician to develop and implement care plans for the at-home patient. The nurse must control and verify the effectiveness of medication and assure there are neither adverse interactions nor side effects. This is often follow-up care after hospital discharge, but it can be long-term care for patients with chronic disorders. Some nurses are qualified for diabetes management or hospice care focused on pain reduction for the terminally ill.

  Home health aides work directly with the patient under the direction of a registered nurse. The aide assists with bathing, grooming and dressing or any other personal needs of the patient. The aide may be required to lift or carry patients who are not ambulatory and make certain the patient takes required medication. It is necessary for the aide to record services and medications delivered as well as the patient's condition and provide progress reports to the home care nurse.

Other Nursing Specialties

• Nurses require special training and skills to work in many different health care disciplines. Ambulatory care nurses provide work with patients in physicians' offices or in clinics, and some are provide care and advice through electronic communications media such as the Internet or by telephone. Critical care nurses care for patients requiring very close monitoring and extensive medication protocols and therapies. Holistic nurses provide acupuncture, massage and aroma therapy. Psychiatric-mental health nurses work with personality and mood disorders. Radiology, rehabilitation, transplant, addiction, genetics, HIV/AIDS, oncology, dermatology and gastroenterology are some of the other areas that require nurses with special training and skills.