Nursing is for certain a practice discipline, but there is a slight difference between nursing practice and advanced practice nursing. In essence, according to Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (2015), the nursing practice refers to a scope of roles, responsibilities, functions, as well as activities which a registered or practicing nurse is mandated and educated to perform competently and with authority. The nursing practice thus is characterized by values and ethics that guide their practice of providing care to patients. Among these values, as specified by Schmidt & McArthur (2018) are altruism, dignity, integrity, and justice. These values also inform the nursing code of ethics in professional practice and evaluation. Nursing practice, therefore, is aimed at assisting clients and patients in the bid to achieve and maintain optimal health as a way of maximizing the quality of life for patients.
In contrast, advanced practice nursing is the application of competent and expert knowledge, composite decision-making skills, expanded practice competencies, as well as the management of characteristics shaped by the context or country of origin in which the nurse is credentialed to practice. To qualify as a recognized advanced practice nurse (APN), one must have attained a master’s degree. Several nursing theories underpin advanced practice nursing. One of these central theories is the theory of unitary human beings. The theory refers to how a registered nurse in APN influences a patient’s home life regarding the expected health outcomes, (Alejandro, 2017). Another salient nursing theory is the Roy adaptation model that proffers the interconnectedness or the correlation between the natures of psychological, biological, and the social systems impacting or influencing patients. An additional theory in advanced practice nursing is the self-care theory which denotes a state characterized by the wholeness of developed human structures and mental functioning. It is further inclusive of social, psychological, physical, and interpersonal facets. Other theories influencing nursing include the transcultural nursing theory, the interpersonal theory, as well as the theory of human caring.
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In essence, the upshot here is that; while the two seem inherently the same, the nursing practice is a field within the advanced practice registered nursing (APRN) but to be an advanced practice nurse, you must attain a master’s degree–this is the fundamental and underlying difference.
References
Alejandro, J. I. (2017). Lessons learned through nursing theory. Nursing2018 , 47 (2), 41-42. Doi: 10.1097/01.NURSE.0000511808.68087.e3
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland. (2015). Scope of nursing and midwifery practice framework. Retrieved from https://www.nmbi.ie/nmbi/media/NMBI/Publications/Scope-of-Nursing-Midwifery-Practice-Framework.pdf?ext=.pdf
Schmidt, B. J., & McArthur, E. C. (2018, January). Professional nursing values: A concept analysis. In Nursing forum (Vol. 53, No. 1, pp. 69-75). https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12211
