Registered Nursing and Practical Nursing: Understanding the Difference A lot of people probably can’t tell the exact difference between registered nursing and practical nursing. Both careers are in the same nursing and healthcare industry. However, when it boils down to the job description, educational requirement and salary, the two positions become clearly different from one another. If you’re looking into a career in nursing, first, you should take a look and understand the basic principles of a registered nurse (RN) and a licensed practical nurse (LPN). Both are nursing jobs. You can also try some practice tests in practical nursing first to help you understand better. However, registered nursing requires a minimum of a two-year degree or a three-year diploma from a nursing school. RNs have a wider set of responsibilities and are mostly working in hospitals. They are responsible for planning treatments and administering medicines to patients to help bring back their health. They can conduct certain procedures and thus, they have a higher nurse salary than LPNs and CNAs. …show more content…
Check your skills to help you on your goal to becoming a practitioner in the nursing field. Meanwhile, practical nursing only requires at least one year of education that will earn them a certification. They are required to perform basic nursing care and work under the supervision of a RN. As a nursing assistant, they will have to report all the observations and changes in a patient’s health condition to the nurse or medical professional. The reason why the title is called a practical nursing is because, as you can see, they do most of the practical stuff and