Can an RN (not APRN) practice independently?

[Infofreak411]

Can a registered nurse work independently in the hospital setting, or open up their own practice and provide nursing services independently?

Or do they have to work under the direction of a mid level practitioner (aprn or PA) or a doctor?

[xxdiscoxxheaven]

What kind of services would be provided? Why?

[Infofreak411]

What kind of services would be provided? Why?

I just mean in general, do they have to work. Under the direction of someone else like an aprn or doctor?

[JustBeachyNurse, LPN]

Work where? The answer is it depends. School nurses work independently with district protocols and nursing care plans. So do home health & private duty nurses.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

Infofreak, if memory serves me correctly you were here over the course of about a year asking several dozen questions on more than 20 threads, all about whether you should go to school for nursing, what did nurses do.....you were fearful of failing. Our responses to you were that you had to make a decision (do it or don't do it) and go with that.

Have you now decided to enroll in a nursing program.....or start the pre-requ courses?

[Infofreak411]

Infofreak, if memory serves me correctly you were here over the course of about a year asking several dozen questions on more than 20 threads, all about whether you should go to school for nursing, what did nurses do.....you were fearful of failing. Our responses to you were that you had to make a decision (do it or don't do it) and go with that.

Have you now decided to enroll in a nursing program.....or start the pre-requ courses?

I have! I actually started taking prereqs for the program! I got a job in a hospital working directly with nurses and loveeee it. This is just a separate question out of curiosity

[roser13, ASN, RN]

It's definitely a possibility that I am wrong, but the last I knew, RN's could not bill for their services. A school nurse, while working independently, would be an employee of the school system.

So, in my mind, you could work independently all you want, but without pay

[elkpark]

As long as you're not practicing outside your legal scope of practice, you can practice independently until the cows come home. However, as Roser notes, whether you can get someone to pay you for it is another matter. I'm vaguely aware that some RNs have set up independent businesses as "health system navigators" (I doubt that's the actual title anyone uses, but that's the best description I can think of) for the elderly and people with special needs -- but they mostly cater to well-off people who pay them out of pocket. If you really work at it, there are probably a number of different business models and professional roles you could pursue, if that's what you really want to do.