Nurses in the US

[Jay-Z]

It might sound wierd but i really ont see the point of all the different types of Nurses there are in the US.

In the UK, we used to have two distinct types of training.

State Enrolled Nurses (SRN's) three years training known as first level nurses and State Enrolle Nurses (SEN's) two years training.

the point was that the SRN's would plan and co-ordinate the are and the SEN's would perform it with or without direct supervision.

the SEN training no longer exists in this country since 1998 becuase it creates an unfair system. after clinical grading arrived i nthe UK SEN's suddenly found themselves eitherput down grades or not allowed to progress to the levelof a Sister/ Charge Nurse. (Grade F) interestingly enough many SEN's are on the Grade below (E grade) an experinced Staff Nurse/ Senior Staff Nurse, so they would already be leading a shift inthe abscence of the F grade. many SEN's have more experince than someone who comes out of a BSc progamme and works for a good 5 years.

My point is all these different levels RN, LVN, LPN, CRNA etc make boundaries that are impossible to keep. i imagine that the lines of practice are blurred all the time. Do RN's leave the basic care to the CRNA's and just 'do the drugs and the IV's, because thats not Nursing. I am in my training now to become an RN (Adult) and have worked as a Nursing Assistant. the only thing we could not do was obviously give drugs and start infusions. but we were the eyes and the ears of the qualified Nurses. we were never treated as lower and had the same amount of respect as the other Nurses. if everybody wants some sort of equality and less boundaires then they shoud just train as Nurses and do away with this two tiered state. Oh and another thing. If the US government wants more NUrses then i don't understand why the course shouldn't be free or heavily subsidized like in the UK.:)

[DIPLOMATICRN4HIRE, MSN, RN]

Ok first of all

CRNA- is a certified Registered Nurse Anesthesia- they are right under the Anesthesiologist in Surgery, lines,sedations, ..... get the drift a HIGHLY specialized area of Nursing.

Registered Nurse- is comprobable to your being a "Sister"

its the british term which Im a RN in the states and a Sister in South Africa and the UK.Both licences are comprobable to each other.

LPN- is the same as your enrolle Nurse, or a general nurse their scope of practice is very broad but it does have its limitations.

CNA-certified nursing assistant- can not pass drugs, only does basic patient care.

PCA-patient care assistant- basically the same thing.

The scope of practice on each is very simple.

There are degrees of RN

ADN-2 YR

BSN-4 YR

MSN-6-7 YR

PHD-UP TO 10 YR

Within the BSN- you can continue to CRNA with schooling and boarding for the CRNA Speciality.

You can also become a charge nurse in any degree of the RN itself, it depends on if you want to or not.

Each degree of Nursing from LPN Up is structured and each has a scope of practice. Once RN is a base degree your are limitless of your abilities as long as you work within your scope of practice.

I hope this helps

Zoe

[J. Tigana]

that lpn and lvn are the same and roughly equivalent to enrolled nurses. A RN is eqivalent to RGN. CRNA are healthcare assistants.

[J. Tigana]

I meant to write cna not crna