Advanced practice nurses (APNs) have a wide range of roles and responsibilities when compared to registered nurses (RN) which cannot be consolidated. The APNs’ main roles and responsibilities include clinical leadership, clinical practice, research and professional leadership. As such, the roles and responsibilities result in the greater difference between the APNs and the RNs creating a wider avenue for nurses to venture into in their specialization. Advanced registered nurses have the capacity to work in the healthcare care setting having an advanced level of independence and accountability for the patient care within the healthcare specialty (nurse practitioner, nurse anesthetist, clinical nurse specialist or nurse midwife) ( Woo et al., 2019) . APNs are be licensed to see patients without a physician, request diagnostic tests, make a clinical diagnosis, and critical medical decisions. On the other hand, registered nurses are not allowed to make a clinical diagnosis in the absence of the physician/doctor but rather monitor them and send samples for diagnosis ( Coyle et al., 2017) .
While the registered nurses observe and record the patient's histories and behavior, coordinates with the physician and other healthcare professionals to create, evaluate and customize the care plans, the advanced practice nurse assesses, diagnoses, and treats acute and chronic illness as a primary care medical provider ( Harper et al., 2017) . They can offer specialized care through research. While the advanced practice nurse can offer referrals for clinical care and refer patients, a registered nurse does not mandate to do so.
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Despite the contrast in responsibilities, both the registered nurses and advanced practice nurses add value and favorably improve the quality of care. While the APNs can diagnose and offer treatment as primary care, the registered nurses help monitor and execute the requisite treatments and medications ( Everett et al., 2016, December) . They both are considered to be cost-effective and are attributed to reducing the waiting times and list. Both APNs and RNs roles have significant autonomy in patient care, leadership, patient education, research and development of guidelines and audits, and administration duties. They can also both act as resources and facilitators of the multidisciplinary healthcare team.
References
Coyle, M. A., Burns, P., & Traynor, V. (2017). Is it my job? The role of RNs in the assessment and identification of delirium in hospitalized older adults: an exploratory qualitative study. Journal of Gerontological Nursing , 43 (4), 29-37. https://www.healio.com/nursing/journals/jgn/2017-4-43-4/%7B07e6bbb6-b057-4c26-a1e8-8e1b76743a04%7D/is-it-my-job-the-role-of-rns-in-the-assessment-and-identification-of-delirium-in-hospitalized-older-adults-an-exploratory-qualitative-study
Everett, C. M., Morgan, P., & Jackson, G. L. (2016, December). Primary care physician assistant and advance practice nurses roles: Patient healthcare utilization, unmet need, and satisfaction. In Healthcare (Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 327-333). Elsevier. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213076415300385
Harper, M. G., Gallagher-Ford, L., Warren, J. I., Troseth, M., Sinnott, L. T., & Thomas, B. K. (2017). Evidence-based practice and US healthcare outcomes: Findings from a national survey with nursing professional development practitioners. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development , 33 (4), 170-179. https://journals.lww.com/jnsdonline/Abstract/2017/07000/Evidence_Based_Practice_and_U_S__Healthcare.3.aspx
Woo, B. F. Y., Zhou, W., Lim, T. W., & Tam, W. W. S. (2019). Practice patterns and role perception of advanced practice nurses: A nationwide cross ‐ sectional study. Journal of nursing management , 27 (5), 992-1004. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jonm.12759
