You Can Be Anything › All careers › Healthcare & Medicine
Nurse
Provides patient care, administers medications, and supports medical teams in hospitals/clinics.
Did you know?
Florence Nightingale carried a pet owl named Athena in her pocket
How subjects help
- Biology: Watch a patient's wound, breathing and skin colour for early signs they are getting worse.
- Chemistry: Set up a drip at the right strength so it balances the salts in a patient's blood.
- Psychology: Calm a frightened patient and notice when someone is anxious or in hidden pain.
- Health Sciences: Follow hand washing and hygiene steps that stop infections spreading on a ward.
A famous name
Florence Nightingale: Founded modern nursing; she cared for soldiers in the Crimean War and opened a nursing school in 1860.
Try it yourself: Take your pulse like a nurse
- Put two fingers (not your thumb) on the inside of your wrist, below your thumb, until you feel a beat.
- Count the beats for 15 seconds, then multiply by 4. That is your resting heart rate per minute.
- If you can, do 20 star jumps, then count again straight away.
- Check every minute until it is back to where it started. How long did it take?
Nurses, doctors and paramedics take a pulse all day: it is one of the quickest ways to tell how a body is coping.
Also try: Keep a sleep diary like a sleep scientist.
Known for it in
USA, Australia, Norway, Switzerland, Canada