Registered Nurses are required to go to college take college courses like microbiology, chemistry, anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, human growth and development. English, statistics, math, psychology, world history. and other classes for a degree.
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I’d say it is a profession.
When I think of an Industry I think of something that creates things.
Both. Proffesion because we are upheld to certain standards, licensing, continuing education, etc. That can all be taken away with a mistake or lapse in licensing.
Nursing is definitely a profession, and not part of the service industry! This is not in any way a stab at people who ARE in the service industry, mind you, but although nursing requires the same amount of patience and putting up with BS that some of those service jobs require, it also requires medical knowledge, how-to, and (as you said) a degree, or at least a series of serious classes.
My Mom was in the hospital for a long time before she passed away, and I have a great deal of respect for the nurses. Most of the time, it seemed as though it was they caring for the patient rather than the doctor, who was “so important” that he/she only came by for a special appearance once in a blue moon.
I do have to say, though, that by wording the question the way you have, you’ve made your personal bias clear and no one without a lot of guts is going to answer “they’re just a part of the service industry.” If you want honest answers, you ought to remove the “additional details” (which are totally true, but also make it clear what your point of view is). Then we’ll see how many people out there know what it takes to be a nurse (sorry, I’m a research scientist). =)
Both. We (nurses) are there to serve and take care of the patient and look out for their best intrest. It is also a profession because of the amount of schooling required to be a nurse, and the amount of contiunuing ed required.
The National Labor Relations Board has included Registered Nurses in the professional employees bargaining unit (i.e., not technical employees).
Nurses are licensed and are required to exercise independent judgement.
However, don’t overrate the education necessary to become an RN. Someone with an Associate’s Degree with a C average can become an RN, whereas someone else with a BS or higher is also an RN. In other words, in terms of competency and knowledge, not all RN’s are created equal.
Additionally, all other medical professionals are required to have, at the very least, a BS degree and up to either an MD or other doctoral level degree. Generally, a medical worker with an Associate’s degree is classified as a technical worker. Thus, even though an ASN is considered to be a professional, this is the professional with the least education.
As to whether RN’s should be considered to be service workers, that’s pretty insulting. Service workers are generally unskilled workers, such as food service, or housekeeping.
It’s a profession in the medical services industry if you work at a healthcare provider, but it could be a profession in the cuise ship industry if you work on a cruise ship. Since you are required to have a license, a nurse is a professional position.
A profession that is treated like a service industry.