What is a professional nurse?

BarbPick · Oct 9, 2003

The term Professional Nurse is a Registered licensed by the state.

A Vocational Nurse is an LPN.

LeesieBug · Oct 9, 2003

According to my elitist-snob "professional role developement "course... you are not a professional unless you have a Bachelor's degree..:rotfl: Yeah, my husband, the computer geek, was devastated when I came home and informed him that even though he looks professional, acts professional, and works in a "profession", he is by no means a professional!

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Oct 9, 2003

Professional is someone who knows how to do their job and does it to the best of their ability.

REGARDLESS of their EDUCATION LEVEL.

gwenith, BSN, RN · Oct 9, 2003

There are lots of lists of what defines a professional and this thread investigated this very idea a while back.

https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35883

Sekar · Oct 9, 2003

Why stop at a Bachelor's degree? Also let us not stop at a lowly Master's Degree. Let's make it a PhD, no two of them, better yet 3 PhDs before one can be called a professional. That sounds good and arbitrary. And please, let us use education alone to determine if someone is a professional. :rolleyes: Certainly we should not use competence, attitude, or ability; that would be heresey! Who the hell cares what label someone else slaps on you? Nursing is a profession that makes all of us professionals.

SmilingBluEyes · Oct 9, 2003

ainz, i await YOUR answer to this question as it's been tackled by many of us here before.

also, I await your tutelage on the language of administration...and how we ---YES I WILL SAY IT---professional nurses communicate so we are not seen as whiny, bitter, powerless, greedy little people. That IS what was inferred before....

I believe, even though I (as yet) lack a baccalaureate degree, I am a consummate professional. But this IS JMO, as always.

indie · Oct 9, 2003

Alisdair Cooke (very elderly, respected USA-UK journalist) defines being a professional as:

'a professional does his best work - even when he doesn't feel like it'

I've always kept that in mind.

Another 'item' close to my heart on this subject is that a profession nurtures and teaches its own.

I know we've done this before, but I like to know what newer members are now thinking.

cannoli · Oct 9, 2003

ainz, how do you define a professional nurse?

katscan · Oct 9, 2003

>yawn

Todd SPN · Oct 9, 2003

Originally posted by LPN2Be2004
Professional is someone who knows how to do their job and does it to the best of their ability. REGARDLESS of their EDUCATION LEVEL.

I would add, within the boundaries of their training and/or education.

shodobe · Oct 10, 2003

Oh,Oh. I think this has been hammered out again and it seems it is always by the same person. BORING!