Discussion: Professional standards guidelines

Discussion: Professional standards guidelines

“Professional standards guidelines guarantee that we’re accountable for our clinical decisions and actions, and for maintaining competence during our career. They’re patient centered, support the best possible outcome, and minimize exposure to risk of harm.” (ANA, 2015). The American Nurses Association (ANA) Center for Ethics and Human Rights was established to help nurses navigate ethical and value conflicts, and life and death decisions, many of which are common to everyday practice (2015). According to the ANA, recommended steps for developing a standard of practice include the following:

Who? Identify numbers of nurses, professional organization/society, and educational preparation.

What? Explain the unique contributions of generalist and advanced practice registered nurses.

When? Determine when these specialty nurses are needed.

Where? Describe practice environments in sufficient detail to understand specialty practice.

Why? Determine what niche or gap is filled; the historical perspective of the development of the specialty; current issues and future trends in health care that point to the need for the specialty.

How? Identify the process to become this type of nurse specialist, including development through formal education, continuing education, and practice experiences. Address use of the nursing process and the Code of Ethics (2015).

In 1983, the first ANA published standards for school nursing practice were released, followed by five revisions. In 1998, the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) and the ANA began a co-publishing partnership for the standards of practice(Finnell, Nehringm, McLoughlin, Bickford, 2015). Other entities that might be involved in devolving standard of practice are local Board of Nursing chapters, specialty nursing organization, and employer’s policy and procedures.

References:

American Nurses Association (ANA). (2015). Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements. Silver Spring, MD: Nursesbooks.org.

Finnell, D. S., Thomas, E. L., Nehring, W. M., McLoughlin, K. A., & Bickford, C. J. (2015). Best Practices for Developing Specialty Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice. Online Journal Of Issues In Nursing, 20(2), 1. doi:10.3912/OJIN.Vol20No02Man01

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