Professional nurses. What is it?

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Hello fellow nurses,

here's a simple question (i think): what is the difference (if any) between a nurse and a professional nurse (RN). Please exclude the obvious fact that one has a qualification and is registered to a governing body but look soley at the foundations/functionnings of both.

here's another question: would making all RN to NP professionalise nursing?

Oh here's another one: NP and I were looking at buying books for our service off the internet. We both didn't recognise it at first. She was offensive but I found it more facinating onced we recognised it.

Here is what we recognised: "Nurse Dictionary $100" "Medical Dictionary $200" "Nurse stethoscope $20" "Medical stethoscope $50". "Health professional and Nursing dictionary $230" (sorry these are estimated prices).

Now: why do we need a nurse or medical dictionary? why cant they just make a "health professional dictionary". Are nurses and health professionals really that different? why are nurses stethoscopes cheaper? arent both nurses and medical equipment used for the same purpose?

Then there is the medical diagnosis and nursing diagnosis. Is seperating the two professions important so much so that we have to have 'different' equipments that measure the same thing and look the same for each profession?

Really interesting.

I'm neither PRO nursing or PRO doctors. I believe every health professional (including nurses :) ) are essential to a persons health. Esp. these days when individual patients are more complex.

Great to get your feedback on this.

Enjoy the day with a smile on your face...even if you have to force it :)

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

"what is the difference (if any) between a nurse and a professional nurse (RN)."

No difference. An RN is a Professional Registered Nurse. If a nurse is licensed, he/she is a professional.

"She was offensive"

I don't understand...how did she offend you?

"Then there is the medical diagnosis and nursing diagnosis. Is seperating the two professions important so much "

The difference between the two is the essential difference between nurse and doctor. If you are on your way to becoming a nurse, I pray that you understand the difference.

"Please exclude the obvious fact that one has a qualification and is registered to a governing body but look soley at the foundations/functionnings of both."

Again, I don't understand. All licensed nurses are qualified and registered, whether LVN or RN. What other types of personnel are you looking at?

"would making all RN to NP professionalise nursing?"

Apparently, this topic is vastly misunderstood (at least by the OP). I'll say it again...all licensed nurses are professionals.

"Enjoy the day with a smile on your face..."

Glad you're happy, but I do believe you need to re-examine your understanding of/opinions of the nursing profession.

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ok maybe i need to clarify.

the scenario went a bit like this: we were looking in a newspaper and we found adverts for cleaners and professional cleaners what is the difference between the two?

same goes to nursing: u dont need a qualification to 'nurse' but what makes these 'nurses' different to 'RN or professional nurses excluding the fact one has a qualification and the other doesnt....(sorry i dont know LVP LPN im from new zealand we only have RN and enrolled nurses haha LVP sounds like L&P which is a NZ drink lol)

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Specializes in LTC.

I was told only RNs are professional nurses. Don't know how true it is though. Before I may get flamed. By lpns I am a LPN.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

"the scenario went a bit like this: we were looking in a newspaper and we found adverts for cleaners and professional cleaners what is the difference between the two?

same goes to nursing: u dont need a qualification to 'nurse' but what makes these 'nurses' different to 'RN or professional nurses excluding the fact one has a qualification and the other doesnt....(sorry i dont know LVP LPN im from new zealand we only have RN and enrolled nurses haha LVP sounds like L&P which is a NZ drink lol)"

Well then...........that clears it all up:smokin::coollook:

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Co-Sign previous post!:D:D

Until rather recently, there was a huge distinction between "nursing" and "medicine" and the two were never used as they are today when say the media writes about the medical field and refers to nurses. Also doctors then didn't take took kindly of someone without their college and post graduate backgrounds horning in on the "club". Nurses were expected to stay very much within their scope of practice, and not *think* about much else. To offer suggestions on patient care, countermand, question or refuse to carry out a doctor's orders even when it was in the best interest of the patient could have serious consequences for a nurse. Of course now that has (for the most part) changed.

In so much as that goes, nursing and medicine are two different professions coming from different areas of science and thus you find the various distinctions mentioned in the OP's post.

Since nursing is not medicine, nurses cannot make a medical diagnosis, only physicans can do that, hence "nursing diagnosis" came about.

As for differences in terms of equipment and reference sources "Nurse Dictionary $100, "Medical Dictionary $200, Nurse stethoscope , Medical stethoscope Health professional and Nursing dictionary ", it depends one what one is looking for or going to do mainly. There is nothing that different between stethoscopes , but if a nurse wants to plunk down extra cash for a MD type scope, no one is going to stop her/him. Medical versus nursing dictionary, well again there might not be that much of a difference between how they define things, but their approach may vary depending upon what target market they assume will will purchase the product. Long and huge forays into disease processes, surgical proceedures and so forth might be overkill for your average bedside nurse.

So yes, while both doctors and nurses are important to a persons health, the two are still quite different and while there may be some overlap, one is not easily swapped out for the other.

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Forgot to add:

Professional nurse is a term mainly held over from the early years of the nursing profession. It was used to separate out "trained" nurses (another old term), from the various women calling themselves nurses and or performing nursing functions that were not licensed, which meant that hadn't attended and graduated from an approved nursing school.

Today the terms are largely un-needed as every state in the US and most other places such as the UK and EU have regulated whom can call themselves a "nurse", and that nearly always involves attending an accredited nursing program, graduating and being licensed. In the United States, nursing falls under each state's licensure of professions, so again once you are a nurse you are a "professional" nurse. There isn't any such thing as a unprofessional nurse (ok, yes I know, but we're not on that right now:D). Anyone calling themselves a nurse, professional or otherwise who is not licensed can get into serious legal and or criminal trouble.

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Today, the term "professional" is not a title, but a way of acting. It applies to MD's, PhD's, nurses, and pretty much anybody who interacts with other people.

Are you confusing NP's and RN's? Both must be professional at all times.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
ok maybe i need to clarify.

the scenario went a bit like this: we were looking in a newspaper and we found adverts for cleaners and professional cleaners what is the difference between the two?

same goes to nursing: u dont need a qualification to 'nurse' but what makes these 'nurses' different to 'RN or professional nurses excluding the fact one has a qualification and the other doesnt....(sorry i dont know LVP LPN im from new zealand we only have RN and enrolled nurses haha LVP sounds like L&P which is a NZ drink lol)

There is no such thing as an "LVP"....LPN stand for Licensed Practical Nurse and LVN stands for Licensed Vocational Nurse, the common denominator being the "Nurse" ("N"). "LVP" would not make any sense. FYI.

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Thanks so much for your responses!!!!!!

It's what im going to use to write my essay. Really good insights here!

In class our Professor was challenging us with the same questions: Whats the difference between a 'nurse' and a 'registered nurse'? etc

this was great thanks for the FYI cherry. why cant we nurses just agree with one title aka nurse or RN hehe.

Here another one: so why is it that we have advanced nurses? i thought becoming a nurse was the end? is there really a need to differentiate between a RN and a advanced nurse?

a nurse is a nurse is a nurse...right?

nurses may say 'but advanced nurses study more etc ' but if thats the case and if there is such a high need for advanced nurses (im presumming) then why dont we just make it the norm for all RN to be trained in 'advanced nursing'?.

hehe i feel this may conjure up a great debate but i welcome it (havent braced myself for it) but nevertheless ready :)

hey thanks for that, i never knew some countries 'copywrite' the title nurse to RNs. Awesomness at its greatest :):nurse:

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Specializes in critical care, PACU.

nurses may say 'but advanced nurses study more etc ' but if thats the case and if there is such a high need for advanced nurses (im presumming) then why dont we just make it the norm for all RN to be trained in 'advanced nursing'?.

if every RN decided to go to grad school and become an APN, there would be no nurses at the bedside. If you are really doing this for a project, I suggest you actually look up the differences between RNs and APNs because there is a huge difference with very different roles even amongst APNs themselves depending on if you are FPNP, NP-AC, PNP, CRNA, CNMW, etc. It doesnt seem like you have a very good understanding of nursing roles so you would probably perform more successfully at your assignment if you researched the roles thoroughly.

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