on 1/18/2009 8:06 AM (ET) HeyBub wrote the following:
Sanity wrote:

First of all, a corpsman is not a Marine, he's Navy. In hospitals
they serve as nurses and doctors aids. In the field they perform
emergency first aid and triage.

Right. A corpsman is a navy man - there are no corpswomen. In
hospitals, he may serve as a nurse or orderly, but he's still a
corpsman, not a nurse or an physician's assistant.


Semantics


Uh, no. It's similar to the difference between a Ph.D. and an M.D. A "nurse"
has completely different training than a corpsman and there are completely
different legal ramifications associated with the care given by each.

For example, a "nurse" can write prescriptions (under the authority of a
physician), a corpsman can't.


I believe that only a Physician's Assistant (PA) can write prescriptions
under a physician's authority.
A Nurse Practitioner (NP) has a Master's Degree and can even write
narcotic prescriptions without a physician's authority.
In NYS at least, an NP can open his or her own practice.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
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