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By Karen P Williams
The nurse’s role in healthcare has changed dramatically over the last few decades. In the mid-20th century, nurses often served only a few main causes-such as being midwives and giving basic care to patients-and were not nearly-as respected and independent as their doctor superiors. The last few decades have turned that stigma upside down, though. Modern nurses can further their careers all the way up to the Ph D level and some even have their own practice.
The Modern Nurse and Responsibilities of
Roles of modern nurses are very broad and often interlope. Depending on your education and licensing level, you can do anything from helping RN’s and doctors, to providing support in the O.R. and even to becoming a fully-fledged Nurse Practitioner, or NP. Just like many industries, you have to climb the career ladder and you do so by pursing as much education as possible and getting all the licenses (NCLEX-PN, NCLEX-RN, etc) needed to be successful in your career.
Moving forward, let’s take a look at roles of nurses in accordance to their educational/licensing attainments:
Most aspiring nurses these days begin their career as a medical assistant. If you are a fledgling nurse, this is the best place to be in the beginning. All it takes is a few quarters of vocational school and you are certified. Of course you want to move up in the world, right?
LPN’s (or LVN’s) have received an Associate degree in nursing and have passed the NCLEX-PN exam. On attaining this level of stature, you are very well on your way! The pay will be greater, and you will typically have the opportunity to provide leadership to medical assistants or medical aides. Generally speaking, you will be the ‘middle-man’ between the MA and the RN (Registered Nurse).
If you decide to open many more doors, consider becoming a fully-fledged RN. The many different types and roles of RN’s are extremely wide in scope. A Bachelor degree is required (BSN) from an accredited nursing school, and you must pass the national NCLEX-RN exam
And, if you have aimed for the stars and gotten your Master degree in nursing, the APRN
(Advanced Practice Registered Nurse) is well in sight. This is the top of, or very near, the career ladder of any nurse. A Master’s degree (MSN or MN) is required, as generally all the experience you got from being a lower-level nurse is. Common descriptions include: CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists), NP (Nurse Practitioner) and CNM (Certified Nurse Midwife).
Watch Out Doctors!
Your journey to the top is near complete. However, if even the top isn’t good enough for you, join the ranks of doctors! The DNP, or DrNp (Doctor of Nursing Practice) is the gold medal of nursing and, essentially, signifies that you have reached the extreme top of your game. This will require at least partial study in the PhD degree level and it varies from state-to-state.
Those are your options for becoming a nurse and that is the roles that they carry out. This guide is not meant to imply that you are required to rise to the very top (as most nurses are very happy once they have attained RN status) it only shows all the ‘rungs’ you can aspire to climb before you are ultimately satisfied and happy in your career.
About the Author: If you’re looking for information about
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& Training, we have more great tools and resources on our website
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Source:
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