What exactly does a Resource Nurse Do?

I am applying for a position as a Resource Nurse. I tried to look online for info on the duties of a Resource Nurse, but the info on the job description was way tooooo technical.
Does anyone know exactly what they do , and can u explain it in layman's terms? Last edit by RNBSNMe on Dec 10, '08 : Reason: Typo
Why would you apply for a job whose description you don't know?How are you qualified for a job whose description you don't understand?I mean no disrespect, I just can't imagine applying for a job without knowing what it is.The best place to find out, btw, is the actual employer. Even with similar titles, job descriptions vary among employers. Don't be embarrassed. As an applicant, it is expected that you will ask about the specifics of the job.Oh, and one more thing. Job descriptions are often ineptly written. They come off as so much gobbledygook. That's one more reason to ask for clear specifics.Resource Nurses are usually people with some experience in a particular unit since they are coordinators and problem solvers for the other staff nurses.

You do have a valid point. I have a basic Idea of what a resource Nurse does. They act as a resource to other nurses on the unit in their field of expertise ( they obviously have to have some experience in that area-telemetry, ICU, medsurg, OR). I guess I stated it in a rather akward way. I wanted to know..Do they sometimes have to work on the floor? is it a week day only job? Those kind of questions from someone who is actually a resource nurse?And yeah, the recruiter would answer my questions too ( She said I was qualified for the position), but why not ask my fellow nurses on allnurses.com?Thanks anyway for ur help!!!

Was there any job description at all? At my hospital resource nurses are what they call the nurses is the float pool. They fill in on almost any floor of the hospital when there are low staffing levels.

Where I work, the resource nurses are a small group of experienced ICU nurses. They mainly carry a pager and transport your patient (if your ICU patient is not 1:1) to procedures. They respond with the rapid response team and respond to codes if they are not in staffing or transporting.The resource nurses also cover holes in staffing in all the adult ICU's and stepdown units(ten different units where I work).If the day is slow for transports, the resource nurse can help cover lunch breaks and assist the nurses, there is plenty to do if you go looking.

Our resource nurses work day or PM shifts. They only take a pt load if someone is sick or we get alot of admissions. They take off orders, assist with the codes in ER, assist where needed, take an admission if it is busy, do rounds with the MD's, and just an all around helper. They only call MD's for basic stuff if they have not particularly assessed that pt. Not sure how it works elsewhere.

Our resource nurses are our float pool.

I think we see now that "resource nurse" is a broad term that means radically different things in different facilities. I am used to the resource nurse being the float pool as well.

Our resource nurses are like the 'extra' nurse on our unit. They are just that. A resource for the nuses on our unit. they help with admissions, stat labs, taking patients to procedures, just anything we may need. They work a regular shift nurse schedule. Days, nights, weekdays, weekends. It sounds like each hospital has their own description of what a resource nurse does so I would specifically ask the unit in which you are applying.

Our "resource" nurse is just the charge nurse. Every shift, one of the nurses scheduled to work is picked as resource (usually one of the most experienced nurses of that particular group) and keeps track of the unit census, the acuity level of the patients, helps with admits and transfers, and generally helps out. It is one of my favorite things about my unit!

We have a large unit so we have a charge nurse and a resource nurse.

On our unit, the "resource" is just an extra staff nurse who helps with admissions, med recs, starting IVs, putting in foleys, pulling sheaths, chart checks, or whatever the nurses with full assignments need help with to get through the shift.

The resources nurses where I worked at were day shift or 11-7pm nurses who picked up the slack. They did what ever was needed. Admissions, discharges, patient teaching, dressing changes, hung blood etc. They did not take a patient load. It was up to the nurse manager(head nurse) as to whether the floor needed a resource nurse.