What is a general duty nurse and how to become one

Key steps to become a general duty nurse

1. Explore general duty nurse education requirements

   Most common general duty nurse degrees

   Bachelor's

   52.6 %

   Associate

   22.6 %

   Diploma

   8.5 %

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2. Start to develop specific general duty nurse skills

   Skills	Percentages
   Patients	37.97%
   BLS	9.42%
   Surgery	7.80%
   Direct Patient Care	6.49%
   Acls	4.49%

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3. Complete relevant general duty nurse training and internships

   Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New general duty nurses learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a general duty nurse based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real general duty nurse resumes.

4. Obtain the necessary licensing

   Becoming a licensed general duty nurse usually require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed general duty nurse in most of states. 43 states require general duty nurses to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

   State	Education	Exam	License Url
   Alabama	Degree required	State exam required	Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
   Alaska	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Nurse, Licensed Practical
   Arkansas	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)
   California	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Licensed Vocational Nurse
   Colorado	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Licensed Practical Nurse

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5. Research general duty nurse duties and responsibilities

   • Interpret EKG changes and manage EKG machine.recognize signs and symptoms that require rapid response.
   • Manage patient pain relief and sedation by providing pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention, monitor patient response and record care plans accordingly.
   • Provide all aspects of patient care on medical surgical unit with sub-specialty of orthopedic surgery.
   • Work in cardiac care unit, telemetry, neurology, rehabilitation, and post-operative surgical ward.

6. Prepare your general duty nurse resume

   When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your general duty nurse resume.

   You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a general duty nurse resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

   Choose From 10+ Customizable General Duty Nurse Resume templates

   Build a professional General Duty Nurse resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your General Duty Nurse resume.
   

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7. Apply for general duty nurse jobs

   Now it's time to start searching for a general duty nurse job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

   1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
   2. Consult your professional network
   3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
   4. Watch out for job scams