A registered nurse (RN) is a nurse who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized licensing body to obtain a nursing license. An RN's scope of practice is determined by legislation, and is regulated by a professional body or council.
A nurse practitioner (NP) is an advanced practice registered nurse and a type of mid-level practitioner. NPs are trained to assess patient needs, order and interpret diagnostic and laboratory tests, diagnose disease, formulate and prescribe medications and treatment plans. NP training covers basic disease prevention, coordination of care, and health promotion, but does not provide the depth of expertise needed to recognize more complex conditions.
An advanced practice nurse (APN) is a nurse with post-graduate education and training in nursing. Nurses practicing at this level may work in either a specialist or generalist capacity. APNs are prepared with advanced didactic and clinical education, knowledge, skills, and scope of practice in nursing.
A Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) is an advanced-level postgraduate degree for registered nurses and is considered an entry-level degree for nurse educators and managers. The degree also may prepare a nurse to seek a career as a nurse administrator, health policy expert, or clinical nurse leader. The MSN may be used as a prerequisite for doctorate-level nursing education, and used to be required to become an advanced practice registered nurse such as a nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, nurse anesthetist, or nurse midwife.
The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) is a professional degree in nursing. In the United States, the DNP is one of three doctorate degrees in nursing, the others being the research degrees PhD and the Doctor of Nursing Science. The DNP program may often include additional clinical/residency hours, some as many as 500, as well as a DNP Capstone/Final project which is usually a clinical practice research project that is often implemented through direct clinical nursing care in an effort to improve healthcare outcomes. The DNP Capstone/Final project reflects the scope of the student’s doctoral level work, with a short goal program of demonstrating mastery of study the often student’s online newly acquired skills and knowledge.
Nursing credentials and certifications are the various credentials and certifications that a person must have to practice nursing legally. Nurses' postnominal letters reflect their credentials—that is, their achievements in nursing education, licensure, certification, and fellowship. The letters usually appear in the following order:
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (VUSN) is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. VUSN is closely connected with its parent university and the separate nonprofit Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The School of Nursing is ranked in the top 10 in the U.S. News & World Report rankings. Additionally, its Masters of Science program is ranked 8th, and its Doctorate of Nursing practice program 6th in the report's 2022 graduate school rankings.
A clinical nurse specialist (CNS) is an advanced practice nurse who can provide advice related to specific conditions or treatment pathways. According to the International Council of Nurses (ICN), an Advanced Practice Nurse is a registered nurse who has acquired the expert knowledge base, complex decision-making skills and clinical competencies for expanded practice, the characteristics of which are shaped by the context and/or country in which s/he is credentialed to practice. Clinical Nurse Specialists are registered nurses who have had graduate level nursing preparation at the master's or doctoral level as a CNS. They are clinical experts in evidence-based nursing practice within a specialty area, treating and managing the health concerns of patients and populations. The CNS specialty may be focused on individuals, populations, settings, type of care, type of problem, or diagnostic systems subspecialty. CNSs practice autonomously and integrate knowledge of disease and medical treatments into the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of patients' illnesses. These nurses design, implement, and evaluate both patient–specific and population-based programs of care. CNSs provide leadership in the advanced practice of nursing to achieve quality and cost-effective patient outcomes as well as provide leadership of multidisciplinary groups in designing and implementing innovative alternative solutions that address system problems and/or patient care issues. In many jurisdictions, CNSs, as direct care providers, perform comprehensive health assessments, develop differential diagnoses, and may have prescriptive authority. Prescriptive authority allows them to provide pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments and order diagnostic and laboratory tests in addressing and managing specialty health problems of patients and populations. CNSs serve as patient advocates, consultants, and researchers in various settings.
The University of Virginia School of Nursing, established in 1901, is a school of nursing education. It has an enrollment of approximately 800 students, and is consistently rated in the top 4% of U.S. nursing schools. After the retirement of Dorrie K. Fontaine as the fifth dean of the School, two-term American Nurses Association President Pam Cipriano, a research faculty member at UVA for years, stepped in as interim dean in August 2019.
In the United States, a psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) is an advanced practice registered nurse trained to provide a wide range of mental health services to patients and families in a variety of settings. PMHNPs diagnose, conduct therapy, and prescribe medications for patients who have psychiatric disorders, medical organic brain disorders or substance abuse problems. They are licensed to provide emergency psychiatric services, psychosocial and physical assessment of their patients, treatment plans, and manage patient care. They may also serve as consultants or as educators for families and staff. The PMHNP has a focus on psychiatric diagnosis, including the differential diagnosis of medical disorders with psychiatric symptoms, and on medication treatment for psychiatric disorders.
Georgetown UniversitySchool of Nursing is one of the eleven schools of Georgetown University. Founded in 1903 as the School of Nursing, it added three other health related majors in 1999 and appended its name to become the School of Nursing & Health Studies. In 2022, the school returned to the name School of Nursing, as the School of Health was divided from it. The school has been at the forefront of education in the health care field, offering many programs unique to America's elite institutions. Offering undergraduate and graduate programs in the health sciences, graduates are prepared to enter the complex fields of medicine, law, health policy, and nursing. The School of Nursing is made up of the Department of Health Systems Administration, the Department of Human Science, the Department of International Health, and the Department of Nursing.
A family nurse practitioner (FNP) provides continuing and comprehensive healthcare for the individual and family across all ages, genders, diseases, and body systems. Primary care emphasizes the holistic nature of health and it is based on knowledge of the patient in the context of the family and the community, emphasizing disease prevention and health promotion.
Nurses in Canada practise in a wide variety of settings, with various levels of training and experience. They provide evidence-based care and educate their patients about health and disease.
The Jane and Robert Cizik School of Nursing at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston (UTHealth) is an American nursing education institution.
Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMUoHP) is a private, for-profit university focused on graduate healthcare education and located in Provo, Utah. It was established in 1998 and is accredited by the Northwest Commission of Colleges and Universities.
The Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing (HBSON) is the nursing school of Hunter College, a public university that is a constituent organization of the City University of New York (CUNY). It is located on the Brookdale Campus, at East 25th Street and 1st Avenue in Kips Bay, near Bellevue Hospital. The school is the flagship nursing program for CUNY.
A pediatric nurse practitioner (PNP) is a nurse practitioner who specializes in care for newborns, infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers, school-aged children, adolescents, and young adults. Nurse practitioners have an in-depth knowledge and experience in pediatric healthcare including well childcare, and prevention/management of common pediatric acute illnesses and chronic conditions. This care is provided to support optimal health of children within the context of their family, community, and environmental setting. In order to be a pediatric nurse practitioner one must be compassionate, resourceful, good at communicating and have good attention to detail. In the past couple decades, the job of a nurse practitioner has nearly doubled in the United States. Pediatric nurse practitioner numbers have stayed relatively the same. It is expected that the demand for the PNPs will start to increase in our society. This demand comes from children with chronic illnesses which are surviving and having diseases. PNPs are mostly taking over offices over the physicians, but still work side by side.
Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) are registered nurses with graduate degrees in nursing. APRN roles include: certified nurse midwife, clinical nurse specialist, certified registered nurse anesthetist, and nurse practitioner. APRNs assess, diagnose, manage patient medical problems, order diagnostic tests, and prescribe medications. Rules, regulations, and credentialing for APRNs vary by state. This page outlines the regulatory processes for nurse practitioners in Wisconsin, including education, certification, licensing, and credentialing. Regulatory and credentialing processes are continuously changing, and the information contained on this page is current as of November 2015.
Nursing is the largest healthcare profession in the United States, with more than 3.1 million registered nurses. Between 2012 and 2022, employment for nurses is projected to grow by 19 percent, which is more than any other profession. Nurses make up the largest component of staff in hospitals but are also able to provide care in clinic settings, patient's homes, schools, nursing homes, public health agencies, and mental health centers. In addition, nurses can be found in the military, in industry, nursing education, and do health care research. Nurses in these various roles and settings can provide direct patient care and case management, but also develop and establish nursing practice and quality standards within complex healthcare systems. As each degree can provide a different level of care for patients and function in vastly different roles, it is important to differentiate between them. The levels of nursing degrees have different educational requirements, licensure, and credentialing that can vary state to state.
An acute care nurse practitioner (ACNP) is a registered nurse who has completed an accredited graduate-level educational program that prepares them as a nurse practitioner. This program includes supervised clinical practice to acquire advanced knowledge, skills, and abilities. This education and training qualifies them to independently: (1) perform comprehensive health assessments; (2) order and interpret the full spectrum of diagnostic tests and procedures; (3) use a differential diagnosis to reach a medical diagnosis; and (4) order, provide, and evaluate the outcomes of interventions. The purpose of the ACNP is to provide advanced nursing care across the continuum of health care services to meet the specialized physiologic and psychological needs of patients with acute, critical, and/or complex chronic health conditions. This care is continuous and comprehensive and may be provided in any setting where the patient may be found. The ACNP is a licensed independent practitioner and may autonomously provide care. Whenever appropriate, the ACNP considers formal consultation and/or collaboration involving patients, caregivers, nurses, physicians, and other members of the interprofessional team.
