nursing scope USA v Australia ??

[gundyausnurse]

Hello All,

I am an endorsed enrolled nurse in australia and i am wondering what the equal qualifications are in the states. In Australia a A.I.N (assistant in nursing) is mainly concerned with activities of daily living e.g showering. An enrolled nurse is a little more advanced with clinical skills however handles no medications. An endorsed enrolled nurse is endorsed with medications meaning they can give schedule 1,2,3,4 drugs but no S8's e.g (narcotic analgesics) and the route of administration is limited to S/C, oral, I.M and sublingual. Out of interest could someone tell me the equivalant in the states like what is LPN and LVN and their scope of practice ??

thanks heaps

[colettea]

G'Day Mate! An LPN/LVN in the states are licensed to give just about anything as far as meds are concerned no matter the route. I have worked in ICU/CCU/ER, tele floors in the southern US as well as the Midwest (these places from my experiance utilize practical nurses a little better than the Pacific Northwest, where I am now). I am ACLS and PALS certified. It all comes down to extra training and experiance in pushing iv meds. It is also from my experiance that Practical nurses are being "piegon-holed" into mostly long-term care (which is nothing more than a chronic med-surg floor versus an acute med-surg hospital floor)..and that's fine for those that have a desire to practice mostly geriatics. I have a BS in biology/premed and am returning to school in about 2 mos to recieve an associates degree as a Registered Nurse...I feel that I personally and professionally can offer more that what I am doing now. By the way, I trully love the culture "down under" (I was there visiting last year in Queensland and I'm serously thinking about doing duel citizenship in your lovely country).:cheers: