In today's health care environment, the professional nurse does more than comfort patients, carry out physician orders, and assist others in health care. Professional nurses have advanced education which prepares them to function independently in all health care settings. Nurses are cost-effective providers of prevention-focused, holistic health information, as well as clinical care and primary care.
The professional nurse provides life support, insures a holistic approach to patient care, designs health care systems, supervises technical personnel, coordinates the many disciplines that provide services, and advocates for the protection of patient rights in research and health care.
The advanced practice nurse provides highly specialized care and insures quality patient outcomes in one of four roles: clinical specialist, clinical nurse midwife, nurse anesthetist and nurse practitioner.