Nurse

# Overview
Nurses are responsiblealong with other health care professionalsfor the treatment, safety, and recovery of acutely or chronically ill or injured people, health maintenance of the healthy, and treatment of life-threatening emergencies in a wide range of health care settings. Nurses may also be involved in medical and nursing research and perform a wide range of non-clinical functions necessary to the delivery of health care.

# Education & regulation
Nursing education, regulation, roles, and titles vary in different countries, but in general reflect an increasing level of responsibility and status.
Nurses develop and implement a plan of care and work collaboratively with the patient, the patient's family, and other health care professionals and para-professionals.  Nurses help coordinate the patient care performed by other members of a health care team such as physical therapists, medical practitioners, social workers, and dietitians.  Nurses frequently act as patient advocates.
The nursing career structure varies considerably throughout the world. Typically there are several distinct levels of nursing practitioner distinguished by increasing education, responsibility, and skills.  The major distinction is between task-based nursing and professional nursing. Nurses throughout the world are increasingly employed as advanced practice nurses, such as clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners, who diagnose health problems and prescribe medications and other therapies.  At the top of the educational ladder is the doctoral-prepared nurse.  Nurses may gain a PhD or another doctoral degree, specializing in research, clinical nursing, and so forth. These nurses practice nursing, teach nursing, and carry out nursing research. As the science and art of nursing has advanced, so has the demand for doctoral-prepared nurses.
In various parts of the world, the educational background for nurses varies widely. In some parts of eastern Europe, nurses are high school graduates with twelve to eighteen months of training. In contrast, Chile requires any registered nurse to have at least a bachelor's degree.
Nurses are the largest group of providers in the health care system--there are over two million registered nurses in the United States of America (U.S.) alone, comprising about 13% of the fifteen million workers in the health care and social assistance category tracked by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Nursing is one of the most female-dominated occupations but the number of males entering the profession is increasing. For example, in the U.S., only 5.4% of the registered nurse population was male in 2000, but that percent represented a 226% increase in two decades..
Governments regulate the profession of nursing to protect the public.

## Other healthcare workers
Health care settings generally involve a wide range of health care workers, who work in collaboration with nurses.
Examples include:
- Nursing assistants, orderlies, auxiliary nurses, healthcare assistants. These types of healthcare workers work both in acute and primary settings, under the supervision of registered nurses or licensed practical nurses (in the US). They assist nurses by giving basic care, taking vital signs, administering hygienic care, assisting with feeding, giving basic psychosocial care, housekeeping, and similar duties. See also hospital volunteers.
- Technicians: for example, certified medication aides in the US, are trained to administer medications in a long-term care setting.  There are also phlebotomy technicians, who perform venipuncture; surgical technologists (US) and operating department practitioners (UK), who are more or less equivalent to a registered nurse in theatres; and technicians trained to operate most kinds of diagnostic and laboratory equipment, such as X-ray machines, electrocardiographs, and so forth.
- Physicians historically operated without nursing advice, but nowadays rely on nurses' skills, observations, and experience to ensure a continuity of patient care.
- Pharmacists are responsible for the safe dispensing of medicine and offering of expert advice on drug therapies.
- Allied health professionals such as respiratory therapists, medical technologists, speech therapists, occupational therapists and physical therapists work closely with nursing staff and work collaboratively in multi-disciplinary teams.

# Australia

## Education
Registration as a registered nurse now requires an associate degree at least, considered the foundation for any future specialization within nursing any other type of medical ways.  Postgraduate diplomas provide further vocational training for specialist areas.  Masters level courses are available in both research and course work streams; a specialist course has been developed to provide preparation for registration as a nurse practitioner.  Professional doctorates are also available.
Australia has a long tradition of post-basic courses, usually of a six month (minor) or twelve month (major) duration, which included midwifery, maternal and child welfare, psychiatric, peri-operative ("theatre nursing"), intensive care, and coronary care in later years, as well as a myriad of other courses.  They are now provided by the university sector as postgraduate diplomas or post graduate certificates, depending on the length and complexity.
There are options available for hospital trained nurses to upgrade their qualifications to a Bachelor of Nursing (post registration). However, most opt instead to undertake specialist courses such as a postgraduate diploma or certification in the area of their clinical interest.
Enrolled nurses are trained in the "technical and further education" (TAFE) sector of approximately twelve months duration.  In some states, this length has been increased to 18 months to include a module that permits enrolled nurses to dispense oral, topical, enteral medications, and intramuscular and subcutaenous injections. In some areas of Australia NSW in particular Enrolled nurses are also allowed to admiister intravenous medications via a peripheral cannula up to a schedule 4d.

## Legal regulation
The practice of nursing is governed by state and territorial nursing regulation authorities.  The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council (ANMC) was established in 1992 and works with these authorities to facilitate a national approach to nursing and midwifery regulation.
Types of nurses
In all states other than Victoria, nurses fall into the following major categories:
- Nurse practitioner (NP)
- Registered nurse (RN)
- Enrolled nurse (EN)
Professional titles
The professional courtesy title "sister" has fallen into disuse and disapproval, even though it was formerly used by both male and female registered general nurses.  The title "nurse" was used when addressing enrolled nurses.  The term "matron" is inadvisable.
In keeping with the relaxed attitude to formalities in Australia, most nurses are happy to be addressed by their first name and describe themselves either as "an RN" or "an EN".  In Victoria, an enrolled nurse will commonly describe themselves as a "Div. 2".

## Nurse practitioners
Nurse practitioners are being introduced into the Australian healthcare community, with Victoria having had nurse practitioners since 2000.
In some instances, it could be argued that this is as a natural professional evolution and recognition of the outstanding clinical expertise some nurses have attained over the course of their careers in areas such as wound management.

# Canada

## Education
Most provinces in Canada prefer any registered nurse to have at least a bachelor's degree (preferably a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN)), although Quebec grants RN status to graduates from CEGEP. Many practicing nurses are still college graduates, but those entering nursing now are required or encouraged to enter at the university level.

## Types of nurses
- Registered nurse (RN).
- Licensed practical nurse (LPN) or licensed vocational nurse (LVN), known as registered practical nurse (RPN) in Ontario.
- Registered psychiatric nurse (RPN) - are licensed to practice only in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the territories.

## Legal regulation
The profession of nursing is regulated at the provincial and territorial level in keeping with the principles of professional regulation endorsed by the International Council of Nurses. The College of Nurses of Ontario regulates both RNs and RPNs in contrast to the other provinces and territories where RNs and LPNs are regulated by separate bodies. In the western provinces, psychiatric nurses are governed by distinct legislation.
All registered nurses and nurse practitioners in the province of Alberta are expected to maintain their clinical competence in order receive an annual practice permit from the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Albertawhich also sets standards for scope of practice and provides practice support.