practical nurse

noun

a person who has not graduated from an accredited school of nursing but whose vocation is caring for the sick.

Origin of practical nurse

First recorded in 1920–25

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

She toiled as a waitress to support the boys, and later became a licensed practical nurse.
Joe Redner, Tampa’s Strip Club King | Lloyd Grove | August 26, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Some one person must be responsible for them and when possible this person should be either a trained nurse or a practical nurse.
Campward Ho! | Unknown
Supposedly she has a job as some sort of a practical nurse in a hospital right now.
Warren Commission (9 of 26): Hearings Vol. IX (of 15) | The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
She liked the work better than sewing, and upon her release she persuaded several doctors to recommend her as a practical nurse.
Emma Goldman | Charles A. Madison
Trained nurses get thirty and forty dollars a week and a practical nurse gets seven or eight, and works harder.
The Girl Scouts Rally | Katherine Keene Galt

"I think it will be best to send you a practical nurse," he said, as he took his departure.
Pretty Madcap Dorothy | Laura Jean Libbey

Browse