What it means
A licensed nurse whose scope of practice includes assessing clients, planning and evaluating care, teaching, and supervising others. A registered nurse can delegate some tasks to a licensed practical nurse (LPN/LVN) or to UAPyou-ay-pee (said as letters)Unlicensed assistive personnel: trained workers without a nursing license, such as nursing assistants, who help with client care.Full entry , but stays accountable for the care. What an RN may do is set by each state's nurse practice act.
For the nurse
On the exam, tasks that need assessment, teaching, evaluation or judgment about an unstable client are the RN's and cannot be handed to an LPN/LVN or a UAP.
At a glance
| Abbreviations | RN |
|---|---|
| Also written | RN, RNs, registered nurses |
Related terms
UAP
Unlicensed assistive personnel: trained workers without a nursing license, such as nursing assistants, who help with client care.
assess
To gather information about a client by looking, listening, asking, measuring and examining.
American Nurses Association
The professional organization for registered nurses in the United States.
nursing process
The step-by-step method nurses use to plan and give care: assess, diagnose, plan, implement and evaluate.