The nursing station is often the hub of activity in a hospital ward. It's like Mission Control: it's where patient information is kept, where monitoring devices are located, and where doctors and visitors can make inquiries about what is happening on the ward.

Why are nurses identified by “R.N.” after their names? R.N. stands for Registered Nurse—revealing an important point in nursing history. There was a time when nurses were not educated in any particular way—they were just a kind of paid domestic servant. After nursing schools were established, graduating nurses were placed on a list, or “registry,” and so became “Registered.” This distinguished them from those nurses who didn't graduate from a nursing school.