A registered nurse (RN) is a nurse who has graduated from a nursing program at a college or university and has passed a national licensing exam. Registered nurses help individuals, families, and groups to achieve health and prevent disease. They care for the sick and injured in hospitals and other health care facilities, physicians' offices, private homes, public health agencies, schools, camps, and industry. Some registered nurses are employed in private practice. Many first become a licensed practical nurse (LPN) or licensed vocational nurse (LVN). A registered nurse's scope of practice is determined by the regional college or association, as well as by the government responsible for health care in the region. These bodies outline what is legal practice for registered nurses and what tasks they may or may not perform. As of 2011, there are 2.24 million registered nurses in China.
Famous quotes containing the words registered and/or nurse:
“Let fame, that all hunt after in their lives,
Live registered upon our brazen tombs,
And then grace us in the disgrace of death;
When spite of cormorant devouring Time,
Th’ endeavor of this present breath may buy
That honor which shall bate his scythe’s keen edge,
And make us heirs of all eternity.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“I conjure thee, and all the oaths which I
And thou have sworn to seal joint constancy,
Here I unswear, and overswear them thus,
Thou shalt not love by ways so dangerous.
Temper, O fair Love, love’s impetuous rage,
Be my true Mistress still, not my feign’d Page;
I’ll go, and, by thy kind leave, leave behind
Thee, only worthy to nurse in my mind
Thirst to come back;”
—John Donne (1572–1631)