The importance of nurses in the medical field is something that cannot be neglected. The life of each nurse is dedicated to taking care of the people who are suffering from various diseases, and also the old aged ones. There are two different types of nurses, namely the Nurse Practitioners (NP) and the Registered Nurses (RN). Both these categories have well respected positions in the medical field. There are some aspects that make a registered nurse different from a nurse practitioner.
About the Registered Nurse (RN)
Medical professionals who have completed the degree of nursing in four years, and are licensed to work are termed as Registered Nurses. They are capable of giving any medical assistance as well as medical advice to the patients and they can also discuss the details of a patient with the doctor who is treating the patient. They can even take steps on the type of treatment and care that is given to a patient, on getting appropriate guidance from a doctor.
Some of their important duties are as follows: spreading awareness regarding the disease that has affected the patient and its present condition in the patient and their bystanders, giving medicines to the patient, including any fluids that are required, performing medical procedures like giving injections, recording the health details of the person etc. Thus a registered nurse has the permission to work in almost any area of the medical field. If given advanced training, they can also specialise in some particular area of the medical field, like the surgeries.
About the Nurse Practitioner (NP)
The nurse practitioners are actually registered nurses who have completed extra training to diagnose the common diseases in people, and have also completed a master's degree in a special subject. The objective of the training program provided to the nurse practitioners is to improve their screening and testing abilities. It also aims to improve their counselling skills helpful in emotional support to the patients and also the skills of diagnosis, treatment, intake of the patient, case management and discharge procedures etc.
In the states of the US, the license of these nurse practitioners is issued from the place or state where they work. The American Nurses Credentialing Centre is the firm that issues certification of these nurse practitioners on the national board. Due to the various tasks they go through during the training time, these people are very much experienced and can even handle many of the works of a physician, including the diagnosis of diseases and the treatment of different diseases. There are some states where they are allowed to give prescriptions also. Every nurse practitioner treats the various diseases with the knowledge gained from the training through exams, and the experience they obtained during the training time from diagnosis of patients, physical therapy etc.
A nurse is the first source of support that a patient will seek for, even before getting to the doctor. They are available in schools, clinics, intensive care units, emergency units, operation rooms etc. and this is one of the rare professions that gives you mental satisfaction also.
Rebe Carin owns and operates Registered Nurse Online Programs and also writes about Online DNP Programs.
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