Scope Of Practice: The California Nursing Practice Act

The Missouri Nursing Practice Act governs the requirements for obtaining and it also empowers the Missouri State Board of Nursing with the ability to take disciplinary action against a nurse’s license. The Missouri State Board of Nursing can issue, deny, or reinstate a license. The board can also take disciplinary action against a license and “impose any of the following disciplines singularly or in combination: censure, probation, suspension, & revocation” (Missouri State Board of Nursing, 2015a) when a registered nurse violates the Nursing Practice Act. A license can be denied, revoked, or suspended for the following reasons: drug abuse, alcohol abuse, incompetency, negligence, fraud, dishonesty, over charging, over treating, misconduct, misrepresentation, unethical conduct, unprofessional conduct, inappropriate relationships, performing duties beyond the scope of practice, inappropriate delegation, being listed as a sex offender, failure to pay license renewal fees, failure to cooperate with the board during an investigation, for a full detailed list see 335.066 of the Missouri Nursing Practice Act (Missouri State Board of Nursing, 2014).

Nursing is a profession that requires specialized training, knowledge, skills, and judgment to foster an independent decision making. Practicing nursing is a right granted by the state to safeguard those in need of care and efficient nursing practice is substantiated by the state Nurse Practice Act (NPA). The NPA is ratified by each state based on set guidelines and passed by the state legislature (Russell, 2012). The NPA serves as a corner stone in regulating the duties and responsibilities of the professional nurse. The NPA is founded on set guidelines, however, the states’ board of nursing (BON) has the authority to modify the laws and regulations to fit the desired practice expectations set forth (Russell, 2012). The state of Virginia (VA), where this writer currently practices, has laws and regulations that govern the nursing practice of the Registered Nurse (RN) and the Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the similarities and differences between the role of the RN and the advanced practice nurse as well as to identify if the Virginia NPA identifies the role of an infection prevention nurse specialist.

In this paper I will be informing on the scope of practice or the job description for a licensed practical nurse which includes medication administration and documentation just to name a few. I will also be discussing the future problems in in which licensed practical nurses with have to deal with in practice. And certifications that licensed practical nurses are able to obtain.

Nursing practice is controlled by the individual, state’s Board of Nursing, which oversees and defines the nurses’ scope of practice; hence, ensures that nursing practice is guided by the nurse practice act of that state. Legislation also influences nursing practice, with technology facilitating new break-through in scientific research; the need for changes and or advances in healthcare are detrimental to new and improved regulations within the individual states or at a national level. Additionally, private and or public corporations also affect the practice of nursing in different ways; the policies and funding within these entities may limit the resources

Applies the nursing process to systems or processes at the unit/team/work group level to improve care. Demonstrates leadership by involving others in improving care. (Practice; Ethics; Resource Utilization)

to assess, diagnose, treat and prescribe based on authority from the state nursing board and does not require collaboration from an outside source.

The Nurse Practice Act of Illinois State is 225 ILCS 65. IL offers an APN to diagnose, interpret labs and order diagnostic tests. APNs is able to provide counseling and education for prevention of illness and promotion of health. They can provide palliative and end of life care, and can supervise and delegate to task to LPNs and RNs. APNs have prescriptive authority if they have a written collaborative agreement with a physician and are limited to 30 days (IGA, 2014). In order to practice as an APN in IL one must have a current unrestricted RN license, have a masters degree approved by the State Board of Nursing in the specialty of choice and a national certification. State Board of nursing is the regulatory authority of IL APN practice, and they accept certification from ANCC or AANP or certification from specialty agencies. APNs in IL requires 50 hours of continuing education in a 2-year license renewal period. IL is one of the States that offers versatile certification opportunities for APN in addition to advocating for the full practice authority of APNs. A systemic review done by Kuethe (2013) finds it is better for an NP to manage chronic diseases such as asthma and diabetes for their better control and healthcare cost reduction as physicians do not have enough time to provide comprehensive care (p. 5).

The California law has a relatively brief history, starting with the passing of AB 394 in 1999, when the state established the idea of nurse-to-patient ratios before working out the details of implementation or the actual ratio parameters.

Advanced practicing registered nurses (APRNs) serve essential roles in providing acute care, pediatric care, maternity care, chronic disease management, adult primary care, and mental health treatment. They are registered nurses who have additional training, education, and certification in a given field of practice. There are many potential issues which can influence their practice setting. This paper covers the legislative issues affecting advanced practice nursing formulates a possible policy change to address that matter. Legislative Issues Affecting Advanced Practice Nursing Legal issues affecting advanced practice nursing refer to the policies or laws enacted by legislatures to give guidelines in the field of advanced practice nursing.

Being a former nursing student in the state of Pennsylvania I have had the Nursing Practice Act of Pennsylvania. Before this assignment I knew little of the Pennsylvania laws and absolutely none of the state of Florida. Every state has their set of laws, which is referred to the Nursing Practice Act. Every nursing student must have a copy. The nursing practice act ensures that anyone practicing does not fall below the minimum competency and does not present danger to the public, and anyone who does will be prohibited from practicing (Nurse Practice Act, 2007, p.7). Nurses have a legal liability to advocate for patients, and provide safe administration of medications, and provide quality, nursing care to patients

The Nursing Practice Act (NPA) is the body of California law that mandates the Board to set out the scope of practice and responsibilities for RNs. The Practice Act is located in the California Business and Professions Code starting with Section 2700. Regulations that specify the implementation of the law appear in the California Code of Regulations ("Board Of Nursing", n.d.). What is the NPA? How does it affect nurses? What are the requirements for getting a nursing license from the Board of Nursing? All of these are important questions for someone to ponder when considering joining the nursing

Prior to implementing the standardized procedure, as nurse manager I would confirm with the State Board of Nursing and Nurse Practice Act whether a new procedure adheres to the nursing scope of practice in my state. Meaning a nurse manager should be aware if the nursing professionals are permitted to undertake newly suggested actions and processes in compliance with their professional license guidelines. I would also verify with the healthcare facility whether a new procedure lies within policy regulations. Then a nurse manager should be very clear what exactly the new procedure encompasses and what it asks for and steps required to complete the procedure correctly (Board of Registered Nursing, 2011). Evidence-based practice and nursing research

I understand what you are saying above working with those who are opposed to change. I think like you do as well, that that having current evidence-based protocols are so important and can help save lives. In an article by Roger Ulrich (Ulrich et al., 2008) they look at the scientific research on evidence-based healthcare designs and protocols and their implications when used for designing better and safer hospitals. The report builds on literature reviews conducted by researchers in 2004 and finds that not only protocols and practices buts knowledge of evidence-based hospital designs are critical in making hospitals safer and more healing for patients and better places for staff to work especially with respect to reducing the frequency

We hear nurse’s talk about how rewarding their profession is but what they seldom talk about is how it can be very challenging as well. There seems to be many issues existing in the nursing profession. One of the most affective issues in nursing is the decreasing number of staff nurses. With inadequate staffing, nurses are demanded to have more responsibilities thus causing more stress on the nurse. This increase in responsibility causes nurses to neglect many aspects of their patients’ care. Patient care is suffering from the shortage of nurses as there is an increase in adverse patient outcomes due to the shortage. Also, there is evidence that there is a positive relationship between the number of staff and the effectiveness of their teamwork. The more staff available the more likely nurses will work together as a team. A new act is being implemented to help with the nursing shortage. This act is called the National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the issue of nursing shortage and how the National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act is an example of evidence-based practice.

Because of the current measures, nurse practitioners are not allowed to practice without supervision in some states. These limits are in place because physicians are concerned that nurse practitioners don’t have enough experience to care for patient without direction. These actions prevent free market competitions which the nurse practitioners are upset about. However, “The Federal Trade Commission vigorously promotes competition in the health care industry through enforcement, study and advocacy. Competition in health care markets benefits consumers by helping to control cost and prices, improve quality of care, promote innovative products, services, service delivery models, and expand access to health care services and goods” (Ramirez et