Developing nursing standards of practice Essay

The standards of practice for the RN are made up by the state board of nursing that the nurse lives in. It is each nurse’s responsibility to know and abide by their standards of practice for their state. Each state develops their standards of practice by following guidelines that the American Nurses Association (ANA) provides. The ANA has a committee on Nursing Practice Standards and Guidelines that has a duty to clarify the role and relationships that are associated with regulation of all nursing practice (ANA, n.d.). â€Å"The model recognizes the contributions of professional and specialty nursing organizations, educational institutions, credentialing and accrediting organizations, and regulatory agencies; clarifies the role of workplace policies and procedures; and confirms the individual nurse’s ultimate responsibility and accountability for defining nursing practice† (ANA, n.d.). There are 5 essential entities that are involved with developing a standard of practice. They are knowledge, role validation, competence and skill, environment, and ethics (Klein, 2005). As a standard of practice is being developed, there are questions for each entity that can be asked. For example: Knowledge—â€Å"Did I complete a program that prepared me to see this population (family, adult, pediatric) of patients?† (Klein, 2005) Role Validation—â€Å"Is additional licensure or certification required to do this skill on an ongoing or specialized basis?† (Klein, 2005) Competence and Skill—â€Å"How have I maintained competence?† (Klein, 2005) Enviroment—â€Å"Does the environment that I work in support this scope or practice through structures such as staffing, consultation, policies and procedures, protocols, and community standards?† (Klein, 2005) Ethics—â€Å"What are the potential consequences of accepting treatment responsibility for this patient?† (Klein, 2005) In conclusion, the board of nursing wants the practicing nurse to be fully competent in their work. This is a direction of how they determine the standards of practice that we follow. American Nurses Association. Determining Scope of Practice for Advanced Practice Registered Nurses.Retrieved August 6, 2014, from http://www.nursingworld.org/ScopeofPractice Klein, T. A. (2005). Scope of Practice and the Nurse Practitioner: Regulation, Competency, Expansion and Evolution. 1-2.