Are You a Nurse Attorney or an Attorney Nurse?

There is debate, on whether to refer to RN-JDs as nurse attorneys or attorney nurses? What is your opinion?

I a RN who is also an attorney. I am a RN and practicing law is how I pay my bills.

This is just my opinion. However I feel that regardless of how much training, education, credentialing, etc. we receive as nurses, we are always trying to move away from identifying ourselves as nurses (unless of course its beneficial).

I just attended the Center for American Nurses Membership Council Meeting on Sunday and Monday and this was a discussion I had with one of my colleagues.

Are you a nurse researcher or a researcher nurse?

Are you a nurse executive or a executive nurse?

For me being a nurse and also an attorney is who I am however I will always see myself as a RN first and foremost who is also an attorney. Maybe its because of what I do for living (representing and counseling nurses), how involved I am in nursing professional associations, or because I had to work harder for my nursing degrees than I did for my law degree.

Comments

[Jill Vogel]

I am a Texas attorney and a registered nurse. I practice law full time and serve as an Army nurse in the USAR. Regarding the nurse-attorney v. attorney-nurse debate, I refer to myself as a "nurse-attorney" because it seems to roll off my tongue more easily than "attorney-nurse," but my card states J.D., R.N. I think the bottom line is that both professions are honorable and challenging, so why try to rank one above the other?

[Latonia Denise Wright]

Jill,

Thank you for your comment.