What do they do?
Assess patient health problems and needs, develop and implement nursing care plans, and maintain medical records. Administer nursing care to ill, injured, convalescent, or disabled patients. May advise patients on health maintenance and disease prevention or provide case management. Licensing or registration required.
Also known as:
Cardiac Care Unit Nurse (CCU Nurse), Certified Operating Room Nurse (CNOR), Charge Nurse, Coronary Care Unit Nurse (CCU Nurse), Emergency Department RN (Emergency Department Registered Nurse), Emergency Room Registered Nurse (ER RN), Endoscopy Registered Nurse (Endoscopy RN), Field Nurse, Flight Nurse, Geriatric Nurse, Home Health RN (Home Health Registered Nurse), Labor and Delivery Nurse, Medical RN (Medical Registered Nurse), Nurse, Oncology Nurse, Oncology RN (Oncology Registered Nurse), Operating Room Registered Nurse (OR RN), PACU Nurse (Post-Anesthesia Care Unit Nurse), PACU RN (Post-Anesthesia Care Unit Registered Nurse), Pediatric RN (Pediatric Registered Nurse), Psychiatric RN (Psychiatric Registered Nurse), Registered Nurse (RN), Relief Charge Nurse, RN Case Manager (Registered Nurse Case Manager), School Nurse, Staff Nurse, Staff RN (Staff Registered Nurse), Surgical RN (Surgery Registered Nurse), Triage Nurse
No Data Available
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0.9%
Change
Ranks #66 in job growth rate7,700Job Openings
Ranks #10 in net job growth
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- Bachelor's degree (53%)
- Associate's degree (28%)
- Master's degree (11%)
- Some college, no degree (4%)
- Doctorate or Professional Degree (2%)
- High school diploma equivalent (1%)
- Less than high school diploma (<1%)
Most Popular Majors that prepare Registered Nurses
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#1
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Degrees Granted
155,019
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Female Students
134,589
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Male Students
20,430
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Median Starting Salary
$57,500
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#2
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Degrees Granted
2,526
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Female Students
2,222
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Male Students
304
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Median Starting Salary
$57,500
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#3
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Degrees Granted
1,581
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Female Students
1,379
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Male Students
202
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Median Starting Salary
$57,500
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#4
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Degrees Granted
1,502
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Female Students
1,283
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Male Students
219
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Median Starting Salary
$57,500
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#5
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Degrees Granted
970
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Female Students
861
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Male Students
109
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Median Starting Salary
$57,500
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People in this career often have these skills:
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
People in this career often know a lot about:
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
People in this career often have talent in:
- 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 that there is a problem.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
- Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
People in this career often do these activities:
- Record patient medical histories.
- Monitor patient conditions during treatments, procedures, or activities.
- Administer non-intravenous medications.
- Maintain medical facility records.
- Inform medical professionals regarding patient conditions and care.
- Immunize patients.
- Treat acute illnesses, infections, or injuries.
- Collaborate with healthcare professionals to plan or provide treatment.
- Supervise patient care personnel.
- Manage healthcare operations.
- Analyze test data or images to inform diagnosis or treatment.
- Order medical diagnostic or clinical tests.
- Prescribe medications.
- Prescribe assistive medical devices or related treatments.
- Direct healthcare delivery programs.
- Advise medical personnel regarding healthcare issues.
- Design public or employee health programs.
- Communicate health and wellness information to the public.
- Prepare medical supplies or equipment for use.
- Maintain inventory of medical supplies or equipment.
- Evaluate patient outcomes to determine effectiveness of treatments.
- Test biological specimens to gather information about patient conditions.
- Assess patient work, living, or social environments.
- Administer anesthetics or sedatives to control pain.
- Train caregivers or other non-medical personnel.
- Assist healthcare practitioners during examinations or treatments.
- Prepare patients physically for medical procedures.
- Refer patients to other healthcare practitioners or health resources.
- Examine patients to assess general physical condition.
- Diagnose medical conditions.
- Treat medical emergencies.
- Advise communities or institutions regarding health or safety issues.
- Conduct research to increase knowledge about medical issues.
This page includes data from:
Career data: O*NET 28.3 Database
by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (“USDOL/ETA”). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA
Occupation statistics: USDOL U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics
Videos: CareerOneStop, USDOL/ETA and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development
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