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Registered Nurses

SOC 29-1141.00Job Zone 4 · Considerable Preparation

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.

Context coveredAcute, ambulatory, peri-operative, emergency, oncology, psychiatric, and school settings; charge and staff roles; care planning, medication administration, patient education.

Sources:O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.SkillsCrosswalkSkillsCrosswalk — O*NET enrichment + adjacency index. Opens in new tab.
Emerging
Entry / Apprentice
  1. Vital signs and standard assessments — collect and document on stable patients on a med-surg unit.
  2. Hand hygiene and isolation precautions — apply consistently across patient encounters in acute care.
  3. Routine medications by established protocol — administer with preceptor verification on a staffed unit.
  4. Patient identifiers and safety checks — perform reliably before any procedure or administration.
  5. Charting in the electronic health record — enter assessments and intake/output accurately under review.
  6. Basic patient education materials — deliver on discharge topics with a senior nurse present.
  7. Specimen collection (blood, urine, culture) — obtain to protocol on a general medical floor.
  8. Pain scales and reassessment intervals — document according to unit standards on stable patients.
  9. Code blue and rapid response roles — recognize triggers and call for help in inpatient settings.
  10. Equipment (IV pumps, telemetry leads, pulse oximetry) — set up and verify with preceptor oversight.
Developing
Mid-level / Established
  1. Multi-patient assignments — organize and prioritize on a routine med-surg shift with reduced oversight.
  2. Care plans for common diagnoses — draft and update from admission through discharge on a med-surg unit.
  3. IV access and infusion management — initiate and maintain on stable adult inpatients.
  4. High-alert medications — administer with double-checks in established acute-care protocols.
  5. Patient and family teaching — deliver on common conditions in inpatient and outpatient settings.
  6. Subtle changes in patient status — recognize and escalate appropriately on a familiar patient population.
  7. Interdisciplinary rounds — contribute patient updates and concerns on a general inpatient unit.
  8. Common procedures (Foley, NG tube, wound care) — perform independently on routine cases.
  9. Documentation for regulatory and billing requirements — complete accurately across a routine shift.
  10. New nursing students and orientees — guide on basic skills during clinical rotations.
Proficient
Senior / Expert IC
  1. Complex, multi-system patients — assess, plan, and coordinate across an acute-care assignment.
  2. Deteriorating patients — anticipate, intervene, and lead initial response in inpatient settings.
  3. Specialty-area protocols (ED, OR, oncology, psych) — apply autonomously within scope of practice.
  4. Charge-nurse responsibilities — assign, flex, and support staff across a unit during a shift.
  5. Difficult conversations with patients and families — conduct on prognosis, goals of care, and consent.
  6. Conflict and resource issues during a shift — resolve in real time across the care team.
  7. Quality and safety concerns — identify, report, and follow through using unit and facility processes.
  8. New protocols and evidence-based practice changes — implement and coach on at the unit level.
  9. Preceptorship of new graduates — structure, evaluate, and progress over an orientation period.
  10. Cross-unit transfers and complex discharges — coordinate with case management and accepting teams.
Advanced
Lead / Principal / Executive
  1. Clinical practice on a unit or service line — set, audit, and improve against national benchmarks.
  2. Unit-level quality and safety initiatives — design, lead, and evaluate across multidisciplinary teams.
  3. High-acuity, ambiguous cases — guide care decisions and frame ethical considerations across teams.
  4. Staffing models and skill mix — shape and defend at unit or service-line level with leadership.
  5. Mentorship and career development — provide for charge nurses, preceptors, and emerging leaders.
  6. Policy, protocol, and order-set development — author and revise in collaboration with medical staff.
  7. Regulatory readiness (Joint Commission, CMS) — prepare, lead, and represent the unit during surveys.
  8. Patient-experience and outcomes data — interpret and translate into practice changes at the unit level.
  9. Crisis events (code, mass casualty, behavioral emergencies) — direct response and debrief teams afterward.
  10. Strategic nursing practice across the service line — represent in committees and shape institutional direction.

AI-at-Work Competency Framework

Sources:Anthropic Economic IndexAnthropic Economic Index — release_2026_03_24. Opens in new tab.Jadhav & Danve, 2026Skill Automation Feasibility Index — Jadhav & Danve, 2026 (arXiv:2604.06906). Opens in new tab.WEF Skills TaxonomyWEF Skills Taxonomy 2021 — Building a Common Language for Skills at Work. Opens in new tab.

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  1. Emerging
  2. Developing
  3. Proficient
  4. Advanced
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Pathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework

Sources:Pathsmith™ Durable SkillsPathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
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Show O*NET source anchors63 anchors · skillscrosswalk.com

O*NET enrichment · skillscrosswalk.com

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Source anchors that ground each statement

Related titles
Registered Nurse (Industrial) · Cardiac Care Unit Nurse (CCU Nurse) · Cardiac Nurse Specialist · Central Supply Nurse · Certified Operating Room Nurse (CNOR) · Charge Nurse · Circulating Nurse · Community Health Nurse · Consultant Nurse · Consulting Nurse · Coronary Care Unit Nurse (CCU Nurse) · County Nurse
RAPIDS apprenticeships
0231 · Registered Nurse (Industrial)
O*NET skills
Social PerceptivenessService OrientationCritical ThinkingActive ListeningCoordinationSpeakingJudgment and Decision MakingReading ComprehensionMonitoringWritingComplex Problem SolvingActive LearningInstructingLearning StrategiesTime ManagementSystems AnalysisSystems EvaluationOperations Monitoring
Knowledge domains
PsychologyCustomer and Personal ServiceMedicine and DentistryEnglish LanguageAdministrativeMathematicsTherapy and CounselingAdministration and ManagementEducation and TrainingPublic Safety and SecurityBiology
Abilities
Deductive ReasoningProblem SensitivityInductive ReasoningWritten ComprehensionOral ComprehensionOral ExpressionInformation OrderingSpeech ClarityNear VisionWritten Expression
Work styles
Attention to DetailDependabilityCooperationIntegrityCautiousnessEmpathy
Technology
Medical softwareBusiness intelligence and data analysis softwareData base user interface and query softwareCategorization or classification softwareInformation retrieval or search softwareVideo conferencing softwareWord processing softwareCloud-based data access and sharing softwareHuman resources softwareElectronic mail software
Tasks · seed anchors for statements
  1. Record patients' medical information and vital signs.
  2. Administer medications to patients and monitor patients for reactions or side effects.
  3. Maintain accurate, detailed reports and records.
  4. Monitor, record, and report symptoms or changes in patients' conditions.
  5. Provide health care, first aid, immunizations, or assistance in convalescence or rehabilitation in locations such as schools, hospitals, or industry.
  6. Consult and coordinate with healthcare team members to assess, plan, implement, or evaluate patient care plans.
  7. Direct or supervise less-skilled nursing or healthcare personnel or supervise a particular unit.
  8. Monitor all aspects of patient care, including diet and physical activity.
CIP education codes
51.380151.380251.380351.380551.380651.380851.380951.381051.381151.381251.381351.381451.381551.381651.381851.381951.382051.382151.382251.382451.3899

Sources: O*NET v30.2 (CC BY 4.0), SkillsCrosswalk.com, LER.me®, Anthropic Economic Index, SAFI (Jadhav & Danve, 2026), WEF Skills Taxonomy 2021, Pathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework. © 2026 EBSCOed.