Developing nursing standards of practice

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.). “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—“Did I complete a program that prepared me to see this population (family, adult,
pediatric) of patients?” (Klein, 2005) Role Validation—“Is additional licensure or certification required
to do this skill on an ongoing or specialized basis?” (Klein, 2005) Competence and Skill—“How have I
maintained competence?” (Klein, 2005) Enviroment—“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—“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.

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