Understanding the different scopes of nursing practice
The scope of practice describes the procedures, actions, and processes that a healthcare practitioner is permitted to undertake in keeping with the terms of their professional license.
The Scope of Nursing Practice describes the “who,” “what,” “where,” “when,” and “why” of nursing practice.
When it comes to investigating a new procedure, a systematic approach should be applied. It is very critical to determine whether a given procedure is within the nursing scope of practice before deciding to adopt or implement.
Some standard steps that must always be followed are based on the Nurse Practice Act, the ANA Standards of Practice, rights of patients, and safe nursing practice. According to Anderson (2013), determining if a new procedure is within the scope of nursing practice can be accomplished in three steps.
First, defining the issue, which means clarifying what exactly is being asked and what the new procedure entails. This step also includes gathering any additional information such as conducting a competency assessment to perform a task, as well as any previous experience, current knowledge and skill. Evidence-based practice and nursing research must also support the adoption of any new procedure.
Secondly, since evidence is not the only component, the Nurse Practice Act and the policies of the workplace must also be considered. Nurses may be limited by the facility policies/standards to perform certain tasks even though the tasks are allowed by the BON (Anderson, 2013). Likewise, nurses may not be legally permitted to perform certain tasks that are commonly performed in the facility. These policies can vary within the same state and even within the same facility. For instance, ICU nurses may be permitted to perform a certain procedure that nurses on the other unit are not.
Many states also have a set of rules to follow that help to determine whether task is within the scope of practice. Hence in the process of investigating a new procedure, I would review laws and other documents and follow institutional polices or the chain of command to make inquiries, as necessary. For example, if I learn that the BON permits nurses to perform the given procedure then the next step is to determine what conditions must be met in order to comply with the Board, such as additional training or education.
The final step, according to Anderson (2013), is decision-making. For a task/procedure to be within the scope of nursing practice, it must be consistent with the Nurse Practice Act, institutional polices, and supported by research or professional organization. Most significantly, the primary concern must always be safe environment and patient care (Anderson, 2013). Before introducing and implementing the new procedure, research of evidence-based guidelines, literature from professional organizations, and other resources must be reviewed to determine whether the procedure will result in improved patient outcomes.
The competency, knowledge, and experience with the procedure must also be taken into consideration to determine if additional training may be necessary. If any training is required, then a plan must be made of what the training should entail, how long it will take, along with other details such as when and where.
When it is time to introduce the new procedure, I will have to be prepared to be a leader and an expert in the change process. (Seagraves, 2009, p.19).
To reduce the possibility of resistance it is also important to share with the staff the research findings about the procedure and receive feedback, thereby gaining support.
References
https://www.nursingworld.org/
Anderson, L. (2013). Understanding the different scopes of nursing practice.
Seagraves, K. (2009). How to be a catalyst for Change. Nursing 2009: December 2009 – Volume 39 – Issue 12 – p. 18-19 doi: 10.1097/01. NURSE. 0000365017.08493.08
Solution preview
The scope of practice can be described as a tool that is used by nurses in the medical field to determine if a certain intervention falls within the level of education for the nurses (Olin, 2012). It also used to determine if the practice is in compliance with the rules and the regulation of the nursing profession………………………..
APA
200 words