The Nurse Practice Act ( Npa )

Nursing is one of the most intimate health care professions. They are connected to their patients as soon as they are admitted into their care right through until they are discharged into someone else’s care. With this, nurses have a strict professional identity and scope of practice to prevent a nurse from over stepping their professional boundaries. A nurses’ duty of care does go beyond the average healthcare professional but still does not impair the

The first consideration a registered nurse should determine is if “The Right Task (Cherry 355-356)” is being delegated to the right staff member. Delegation to the right staff member must be in their scope of practice and have proven to competent to complete. An individuals’ scope of practice will be set forth by the facility in which they work. In addition to individual facility polices the nurse must adhere to the scope of delegation set forth in the Nurse Practice Act of Maryland. Per the Nurse Practice Act of Maryland the task to be delegated must be “within the area of responsibility of the nurse delegating the act (Code of Maryland Regulations 10.27.11.03).” An example of incorrect delegating would be having an unlicensed individual, CNA or LPN to

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.

It is no secret that communication is key when providing direct patient care in a skilled nursing facility. However, there is a noticeable lapse in the communication between the care team when providing care to the individual or groups of individuals. Two main parts of any care team are the registered nurse and the certified nursing assistant, as these are the two people whom have the most direct and impactful roles with residents in a skilled facility. The Registered Nurse and the Certified Nursing Assistant play similar roles in providing patient care, but have different roles in its entirety. The role of the Registered Nurse (RN) is defined as having the competency and skill to provide direct and indirect health care to individuals, their families, and communities around them. Services are also provided designed to give out medications, to promote comfort or healing, promote healing, and to also provide the dignity of their patients and patient’s families (American College of Rheumatology, 2015).

The National Council of State Boards in Nursing defines delegation as “transferring to a competent individual the authority to perform a selected nursing task in a selected situation” (National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Resources section, 4). When delegating, the registered nurse (RN) assigns nursing tasks to unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) while still remaining accountable for the patient and the task that was assigned. Delegating is a management strategy that is used to provide more efficient care to patients. Authorizing other individuals to take on nursing responsibilities allows the nurse to complete other tasks that need tended to. However, delegation is done at the nurses’

Nurses play many roles in the healthcare field, can have many duties to fulfill under their licensure. It is important for a nurse of any degree, or licenses to know all of the duties that can be performed under their scope of practice. Olin (2012) states, “Scopes of practice are the same for every nurse at a basic level and very different by specialty.” Therefore, it is important to understand the scope of practice, that the nurse is licensed for. A nurse has many roles under the scope of practice that the nurse is licensed under. There are times when a nurse is asked to perform a task that isn’t under the nurse’s scope of practice and guidelines, and it is very important not to fulfill the task at hand if it

This article discusses about the process of nursing delegation. For the process of nursing delegation, it must have strong communication, empowered staff, and organizational support. The guidelines identify 5 rights of delegation, which include right task, right circumstances, right person, right direction & communication, and right supervision & evaluation. When a delegator, such as a nurse, delegates, they will remain responsible for the tasks that were delegated. Delegation of an action/task is done based on the patient’s safety and their quality of care. Following the process enables a nurse to appropriately delegate to benefit the care of the patient.

Delegation in nursing practice will be discussed in this essay. Delegation will be clearly and concisely defined and described as following:

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).

In nursing, delegation helps in making use of the talent or skills of another person. One nurse transfers interventions which are under his/her practice roles to another to another member of the healthcare team who lacks such powers authorized under their scope of practice. Delegation can only take place if it is in patient’s best interest.

Since the inception of the Nurse Practitioner (NP) role in the 1960s, NPs have thrived in the delivery of primary healthcare and nurse case management. Despite patient satisfaction with NPs ' style of care, nurses have been critical of NPs, while physicians have been threatened by NP encroachment on MD practice. Balancing assessment, diagnosis, and treatment with caring defines NPs ' success as primary care providers. Understand the role and Scope of Practice of NPs is sometimes difficult for some to understand. The purpose of this paper is to define the role and history of NP, compare and contrast licensure versus certifications, understand NP Scope Of Practice and Standards of Care, discuss how the State Practice Acts regulate FNP practice, discuss credentialing and privileging, and differentiate between legislative and regulatory processes.

One common mistakes exhibited by professionals in the field is delegation of duties by persons. Nurses should be wary of delegating duties to health care assistant because nurses should be aware of the abilities of the person with whom he or she is delegating duties. This is to minimize any chance of poor service delivery. Poor patient attendance by a person tasked with the duty at the time of delivery will extend the liability to the nurse delegating duties.

It is up to the nurse/delegator to determine the delegatee’s knowledge, skills, abilities, and any training that will ensure that the task will be handled appropriately and safely. If it is necessary the nurse/delegator must provide instruction and direction to the delegatee. The nurse/delegator or another qualified nurse must be available to supervise the delegate and delegated task. The level of supervision needed will be determined by the training, capability, and willingness of the delegate to perform the task. A delegate may not delegate to another person or expand the delegated task without the permission of the nurse/delegator. Once the delegated task is completed the nurse must evaluate the delegated task, patient’s health status, determination if the goals are being met and if the delegation of the task may be continued (UT Admin Code R156-31b. Nurse Practice Act Rule, 2013). In section R156-31b-704 the rules for the recognized scope of practice of an RN are outlined. It states that the RN, RN managers, and RN administrators should practice

CNA Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses (2008) provides guidance in dealing with cases like this by explaining the core nursing values and responsibilities involved which are: a) providing safe, compassionate, competent and ethical care; b) promoting health and well-being; c) promoting and respecting informed decision-making, and d) Preserving dignity; e) maintaining confidentiality, f) promoting justice and g) being accountable. The first nursing value is always expected to be upheld in any case because it is their duty to provide care using appropriate safety precautions and preventing/minimizing all forms of violence (CNA, 2008). The collaboration of the nurses between the physician and Mr. C’s family has been evident since then. This therefore calls Mr. C’s nurses to be more compassionate about his situation and try to recognize where he is coming from as they build a trust-worthy relationship before judging him or jumping into conclusions like he does not want to live anymore. Even if he decides to withdraw from these potentially life-sustaining treatments, health care providers are still obliged to give him the care he need the best way they can up until the end of his life. The second nursing value, just like the first one, still calls nurses to still aim to promote or at least maintain Mr. C’s health and well-being to the highest possible level regardless of the path he had chosen for his life. This can be achieved by continuing to collaborate well with other

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.