The practice of nursing is a right granted by a state to protect those who need nursing care with safe and competent nurses. The nursing practice is grounded in the guidelines of the state nurse practice act (NPA) and its rules in all 50 states. Every state has their own NPA, however, the ground rules are very similar. I am a registered nurse in the state of West Virginia and I am legally bound to follow the West Virginia NPA for my patient’s safety as well as to keep my license active.
Why do we have a Nurse Practice Act? Nursing requires specialized knowledge, skills and critical thinking provide competent patient care (Russell, 2012). Independent decision making is another vital requirement for nurses. We work in a society that is changing
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Identify key points in the Nurse Practice Act for that state.
As a registered nurse from West Virginia, I will be discussing about the West Virginia Board of Nursing. Key points in the NPA for WV are listed
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The standards and scopes are aligned with the nursing practice and process. For example, comprehensive nursing assessment based on biologic, psychological, and social aspects of the patient’s condition; collaboration with the health care team; patient-centered health care plans, including goals and nursing interventions, can all be language within the NPA (Russell, 2012). Further standards include decision making and critical thinking in the execution of independent nursing strategies, provision of care as ordered or prescribed by authorized health care providers, evaluation of interventions, development of teaching plans, delegation of nursing intervention, and advocacy for the patient (Russell, 2012). The guidelines of the NPA and its rules provide safe parameters within which to work, as well as protect patients from unprofessional and unsafe nursing practice (NCSBN, n.d.). Ignorance is never an excuse in the law of nursing practice. Nursing profession can only function properly if the nurses know the current law governing practice in the state where they
Association, A. N. (2010). Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice. (2nd ed.) Maryland: American Nurses Association. Retrieved January 20, 2014 from http://media.wix.com/ugd/8c99f2_4fde86431966e34f2e03bbb137edfee3.pdf
Making a clinical decision is a skill that needs to be acquired, and nurses are accountable for any decision that is made, so they need to understand how they make decisions (Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), 2015). A greater understanding of how nurses make decision is essential to follow research and development of decision making skills (Clark et al, 2009) . A first step to a decision making process may entail understanding a framework or model. Baumann and Deber (1986) define decision making as situations in which a choice is made among a number of possible alternatives often involving values given to different outcomes”.
Nursing is both a profession and discipline. The terms profession and discipline are interchangeable in Nursing and education today. Profession comes from Latin meaning, “Public declaration ("utc.edu," 2014, p. 4). This is the drive for nurses to have the commitment of caring for patients. Discipline, also a Latin word means both teaching and knowledge. Thus, providing nurses the need for knowledge to care and teach patients. There are many different frameworks which nurses go and learn by. Otterbein’s tapestry of caring contains six components that are intermixed into the education that we pride ourselves as nursing students on. The mission, values and purpose of the education given to students, prepare them for their nursing profession can be based on the following: caring, commitment, compassion, conscience, confidence, competence and conduct.
As a nurse it is our primary job to protect and promote the well being of patients throughout the health care industry. Each nurse has the responsibility to practice faithfully and to uphold all ethical values. These values are outlined and regulated by two very important entities, The Nursing Practice Acts and the Texas Board of Nursing. Nursing Practice Acts, are specific laws in each state that define a nurse’s scope of practice. These acts were first established in 1909 with the purpose of protecting public health, safety, and welfare. Their purpose is to provide rules and regulations that will protect society from unsafe and unqualified nurses. Nursing professionalism is rooted in the ethics and ...
According to the American Nurses Association, nursing is defined as “the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, facilitation of healing, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations” (American Nurses Association, 2016). Nurses have many jobs and responsibilities and wear many different hats. Nurses can perform at many different levels depending on their scope of practice which is defined by the board of nursing in one’s state of residence. It is important as nurses to understand and follow
Nursing is a knowledge-based profession within the health care sector that focuses on the overall care of individuals. According to The American College of Nurse Practitioners (ACNP), “defines nurse practitioners as registered nursed who have received graduate-leveling nursing education and clinical training, which enables them to provide a wide range of preventative and acute health care services to individuals of all ages. They deliver high-quality, cost effective care, often performing physical examinations, ordering tests, making diagnoses, and prescribing and managing medication and therapies”. Nurse Practitioners are able to specialize in a particular area, such as family and adult practice, pediatrics, and women’s health; and refer patients to other specialist when necessary. Some Nurse practitioners work under the supervision of a physician; while others run their own practices.
According to American Nurses Association (ANA), (2010) “the nurse promotes, advocates for and strives to protect the heath, safety and right of the patient” (p. 6). Nursing responsibilities should be acted at the highest standard and must be based on legal and ethical obligations.
A Nurse practitioner is a licensed independent healthcare provider who practices in a variety of settings and provides nursing and medical services to individuals, families and groups in accordant with their practice specialties and state guidelines. Nurse Practitioners are also qualified to diagnose medical problems, order treatments, perform advanced procedures, prescribe medications, and make referrals for acute and chronic medical conditions, within their scope of practice.
The American Nurses Association (ANA) developed a foundation for which all nurses are expected to perform their basic duties in order to meet the needs of the society we serve. The ANA “has long been instrumental in the development of three foundational documents for professional nursing; its code of ethics, its scope and standards of practice, ands statement of social policy.” (ANA, 2010, p. 87) The ANA defined nursing as “the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations” and used to create the scope and standards of nursing practice. (ANA, 2010, p. 1) These “outline the steps that nurses must take to meet client healthcare needs.” () The nursing process, for example, is one of the things I use daily. Other examples include communicating and collaborating with my patient, their families, and my peers, and being a lifelong learner. I continually research new diagnoses, medications, and treatments for my patients. As a nurse of ...
1. Legal, ethical and professional principle frameworks underpin all fields of nursing, and it is a requirement for all Registered Nurses to be competent and knowledgeable, act with integrity and maintain professional standards set out by Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC, 2015). Working with multidisciplinary teams within our profession, it is important to acknowledge and recognise the way in which all the professionals are guided by law and their independent regulatory bodies. The needs of the individual patient is to be considered by doctors and nurses alike, who share professional values and are set out in the respective codes of practice, The Code (NMC, 2015) and GMC (2013).
This paper will discuss three theories of decision-making that can be adopted in nursing practice, additionally how decision-making theories are able to be implemented and used. Decision-making in nursing is adopted through the critical thinking process that provides each nurse a model to make the best choices, solve problems and to meet goals in clinical practice (Berman & Kozier 2018, pp. 199-200; Levett-Jones & Hoffman 2013, pp. 4-5). Effective decision-making in nursing is a vital component and part of the role of a registered nurse; each year a substantial number of patients die due to medical errors and poor decision-making (Levett-Jones & Hoffman 2013, pp. 4-5; Nibbelink & Brewer 2017, p. 3). Through the use of effective decision making
The nursing process is one of the most fundamental yet crucial aspects of the nursing profession. It guides patient care in a manner that creates an effective, safe, and health promoting process. The purpose and focus of this assessment paper is to detail the core aspects of the nursing process and creating nursing diagnoses for patients in a formal paper. The nursing process allows nurses to identify a patient’s health status, their current health problems, and also identify any potential health risks the patient may have. The nursing process is a broad assessment tool that can be applied to every patient but results in an individualized care plan tailored to the most important needs of the patient. The nurse can then implement this outcome oriented care plan and then evaluate and modify it to fit the patient’s progress (Taylor, C. R., Lillis, C., LeMone, P., & Lynn, P., 2011). The nursing process prioritizes care, creates safety checks so that essential assessments are not missing, and creates an organized routine, allowing nurses to be both efficient and responsible.
I need further development in knowing what the scope of practice of an RPN is because at clinical I am unsure of the difference in roles of the RPN’s that are working on the units compared to the Registered Nurses (RN’s). I feel that knowing and understanding the scope of practice of an RPN is crucial, in order to ensure the safety of the patients, but also to protect your license as a nurse. Also, it is important to understand your role as a nurse to ensure the patients’ needs are being met, and to ensure you stay within your scope of practice while providing care. The CNO’s scope of practice statement is, “The practice of nursing is the promotion of health and the assessment of, the provision of, care for, and the treatment of, health conditions by supportive, preventive, therapeutic, palliative and rehabilitative means in order to attain or maintain optimal function” (College of Nurses of Ontario, 2015). The goal I set for myself is, I will learn and understand the scope of practice of an RPN in order to be accountable for all my actions as a future
Ethics asses the values, morals, and principles of nurses. Legal codes or laws are rules established by our government. It’s important that nurses have a clear and comprehensive understanding of ethical and legal codes within their career. The understanding of these codes is essential for nurses to safely practice and to protect their patients. Nurses must abide by these principles or face the consequences of legal action. These principles include autonomy, utilitarianism, confidentiality, and many others. Autonomy is the agreement to respect ones right to determine a course of action, while utilitarianism is what is best for most people as defined in American Nurses Association. In order to give you a
In the healthcare setting, a systematic process to ensure maximum care and maximum recovery in patients is needed, which is called the nursing process. This process consists of four steps: assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation (Walton, 2016). The nursing process is important to ensure quality care and to get the preferred outcome. In the nursing process, critical thinking is used to recognize the issue and come up with a logical solution to solving it. One important aspect of the nursing process is that the plan is not set in stone; it is meant to be manipulated in order to better suit the patient. Nurses must be able to think critically in order to recognize the issue, develop a way to correct it, and be able to communicate the issue to others. Throughout the nursing process, critical thinking is used to determine the best plan of care for a patient based on their diagnosis.