[fitba72]

In my experience, most nurses come in, socialise and cheer you up, take your blood pressure and temperature with automated devices, that one can buy for home use, and give you medicines that a doctor has prescribed (someone can also can do at home if they are feeling up to it). This is a wonderful profession and they should be highly paid but do they really need a bachelor's degree or master's degree to do this job? Some specialised nurses can even draw blood but, again in my experience, many of those were unable to "find a vein" and had to call on someone more experienced or a doctor. Pretty sure some experienced heroin users could do a better job at this. Just my experience.

[shadowofneptune]

Where a less credentialed person can do the job it has already been done. Here's how it breaks down:

Registered Nurse (RN): The 'specialized nurses' you talk of, and what this article is mainly about. Requires at least an associate's degree to be licensed, but increasingly an bachelor's is expected. Only they can administer any medication a doctor prescribes, and only they can assess your condition.

Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN): If they are certified they can also do blood draws. Requires graduation from an LPN program (usually about one year) to be licensed. They perform easily predicted tasks like a dressing change that do not require assessment. They can also administer some drugs based on the situation.

Unlicensed Assistive Personnel (UAP): In a big hospital, these are who are checking your temperature most of the time. They can only do basic tasks that do not require any medical training, even if their experience is larger than the RNs and LPNs they're under.

There are also many different technicians. In a big hospital, an RN acts as a middle manager delegating their work to these many different tiers. In an ICU, or in a small hospital, it will be done much more by themselves.