Western Governors University
RUP1 Project
Being a nurse is not just a profession, it is a privilege and an honor. With it being a profession where there is an opportunity to touch many patients’ lives, there must be regulations, laws, and codes that nurses must abide by. There are certain professional traits that a nurse must possess to make them not only a good nurse but a great nurse. There are various nursing theories that a nurse can base their practice upon and many historical figures of the past that guide the nurses of today and of the future.
A. Functional Differences
This section will discuss the functional differences between the regulatory agency that is the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) and the American Nurses Association (ANA) which is a professional nursing organization. As a regulatory agency, the CA BRN implements and enforces the Nursing Practice Act (NPA) which consists of laws that are meant to protect the public by regulating the practice of nursing. The BRN is made up of a nine member board that has the authority to make rules and regulations. Some of the various responsibilities of the BRN include: setting standards for nursing programs, approving nursing programs, evaluating licensure applications, issuing and renewing licenses, and taking disciplinary action on a nurse that violates the NPA. An example of a code from the NPA would be that of Code 2732.05 which states that “no person shall engage in the practice of nursing without holding a license which is in an active status” and “every licensee may be known as a registered nurse and may place the letters "R.N." after his name” (Board of Registered Nursing - Business and Professions Code, n.d.).
On the other hand, the ANA is a professional nursing organization among hundreds of such organizations that advocate for nurses and the nursing profession. “The ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high