Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) quickly learn they are being prepared for a bureaucratic environment indifferent to their history as a separate profession, unique in its contributions of human caring. APRNs are expected to fulfill the role of hospitalist, perform functions reserved previously for physicians, and expand the scope of nursing into the realm of medicine. There is a sacred opportunity to merge the theoretical underpinnings of the discipline with the clinical realities of the profession, for bedside and advanced practice alike. A transpersonal plan of care between nurse and patient has the potential to heal both parties within an intersubjective field of mutuality and context of human caring science. The evolutionary expectation of nursing can only be met if there is clear identification of the nurse within the APRN role and a rediscovery of human caring as the underlying foundation of practice.
The Role of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses in the Completion of Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment
