Doctors vs. Nurses

In the medical field doctors and nurses are two groups of people who share an almost indistinguishable goal, and that is to serve the patient to the best of their ability. Yet, although these two professions have a lot in common there is much that is different between them. This includes the differences in power, pay, status, class, and gender. In the United States the most common kind of nurse is known as a registered nurse or RN. The education process for this kind of nurse is graduation from any university or accredited nursing program and receiving a bachelor’s degree, an associate’s degree, or a diploma in nursing. They also need to pass a national licensing examination, known as the NCLEX-RN, in order to obtain a nursing license. The individual states have authority over the legalization process of nurses. Nurses may be licensed in more than one state, either by examination or endorsement of a license issued by another state. Licenses must be periodically renewed. Nurses make up the largest health care occupation at about 2.4 million jobs in the U.S. and of that high amount only 7% of the total number of nurses are males. Regardless of a nurses specailty or work enviornment they preform basic duties that include treating patients, educating patients and the public about various medical conditions, and providing advice and emotional support to patients’ family members. Another task for a nurse is to document a patient’s medical history and symptoms, also, to help perform diagnostic tests and study results, operate medical machinery, manage treatment and medications, and help with patient follow-up and therapy. A nurse, will have a more hands-on role with physically treating a patient based on the doctor's diagnosis. The median annual earnings of registered nurses were $52,330 in 2004. Normally it takes 11 years for someone to become a doctor. They have to go through four years of college, four years of medical school, and three years working in a