ADN/BSN Question

[sjdelgado1974]

Good Afternoon,

If someone has obtained their ADN and BSN Degrees, however they are not a Registered Nurse yet, can they actually be called nurse?

Thank you,

[AgentBeast, MSN, RN]

No. A nurse is a licensed professional.

[Extra Pickles]

Good Afternoon,

If someone has obtained their ADN and BSN Degrees, however they are not a Registered Nurse yet, can they actually be called nurse?

Thank you,

The term "graduate nurse" is what is usually used to describe someone who has graduated from a school of nursing but has no license to practice (therefore, not an actual 'nurse').

[AliNajaCat]

The state BoN says anybody who calls him/herself "nurse" without a valid nursing license breaks the law. So, no.

[klone, MSN, RN]

How did they receive an ADN *AND* BSN without becoming an RN?

RN is a license, not a degree (unlike an MD, which is a degree).

[Sue Demonas, BSN, MSN, PhD, RN]

When you have earned a degree, you are a "graduate" of a designated program, with a focused area of study. You are not considered a nurse, according to your state's Nurse Practice Act, until you pass the licensure exam, and fulfill application requirements to be issued a registered nurse license in your state.

[applesxoranges, BSN, RN]

Nurse is a license. If you aren't licensed in your state, you are not a nurse and cannot practice nursing.

However... nurse is not protected term in some states so people can call themselves nurses in some states. However, RN/registered nurse or LPN/LVN or licensed vocational (practical) nurse is a license and requires a license.

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

In some states, a person who has gotten a nursing degree but not taken the NCLEX is allowed to practice for a few months. They're usually called Graduate Nurses. In Vermont, graduate nurses can practice for 90 days, until they pass or fail the NCLEX.

I attended nursing school in Massachusetts, which stopped granting Graduate Nurse status in 1994. There, you are a nurse the day you pass the NCLEX, and not one day sooner.