text: what are the roles of a nurse in the clinic?   nurses in clinics are the mid-level practioners of medical care and assessments.  they will often screen patients (called triage) to determine exactly what the baseline problem is and prepare the doctors space to quickly and efficiently do his own assessment.  if medications are needed, the doctor will provide orders and the nurse will then follow up with this part of the patients care.  in the case of nurse practitioners, they are often primary care givers in the place of doctors and can do many assessments with the backing of a physician in the clinic.  they can provide perscriptions for certain medications and do assessments such as pap smears, etc.