LESSON 3
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE M6 PRACTICAL NURSE
Section I. CLINICAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF
THE M6 PRACTICAL NURSE
3-1.
INTRODUCTION
The M6 practical nurse performs or supervises preventive, therapeutic, and
emergency nursing care procedures under the supervision of a physician, nurse, or
senior NCO. The recipients of this care include infants, children, adolescents, active
duty soldiers, retirees, and civilian emergencies. All have different health care needs,
and the practical nurse must be able to provide the nursing care related to those needs.
Flexibility is a necessity when expected to provide care to all these categories of
patients. Additionally, the practical nurse must be able to adapt that clinical ability to
various settings and situations, including the field environment. The first step in
providing health care is to determine the needs of the patient. All the nursing care
needs of the patient may be determined and fulfilled by a logical application of four easy
steps--assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation.
3-2.
ASSESSMENT
a. In order to provide nursing care, one must first determine the needs of the
patient. Patient needs vary in relation to the illness or injury, the age and overall
physical condition of the patient, the support or nonsupport of the patient's family and
friends, the mental status of the patient, and the length of time expected for recovery.
These are the most significant of the many variables involved. All the information and
medical data obtained will be applied to a general assessment of the patient's needs.
The practical nurse supports the professional nursing staff in the assessment of nursing
care needs by:
(1) Using basic communication skills in the patient care setting, interacting
with the patient and his family to obtain subjective information relative to the patient's
condition.
(2) Obtaining objective data from the patient through observation and goal-
directed interviews.
(3) Participating in the identification of physical, emotional, spiritual, cultural,
and learning needs of the patient through data collection.
(4) Determining the significance of the data collected in relation to the
patient's pathophysiology.
MD0910
3-2