Scope of practice describes the services that a qualified health professional is considered competent to perform and is permitted to undertake in keeping with the terms of their professional license. The practice is also based on specific education, demonstrated competence, and experiences. A nurse’s scope of practice is composed of only the skills that are taught in an accredited nursing program that the Board of Nursing deems safe. It also provides a legal demonstration of what nurses can do and what they can’t do. The nurse administers skills at an independent nursing level. The scope of practice is based on the nursing process, which includes: assessment, diagnosing, planning, implementation, and evaluating. The registered nurse’s scope of practice varies from state to state and is updated yearly. The State Board of Nursing defines the registered nurse’s scope of practice in the Nurse Practice Act. The MSBON issues licensure to the individual who has completed the proper education and also has proven themselves competent in the art of nursing. If a skill is performed out of that scope, it will be handled consequently by the board of nurses. The MSBON’s primary function is to protect the public from harm and danger in any case in which the registered nurse is providing the appropriate care for an individual. The RN shall be accountable and responsible for making decisions based on knowledge, competency, experience, and the use of the nursing process. The registered nurse is also responsible for regulations and knowledge of the law, and for practicing within the scope of practice established by the MSBON. The RN is held accountable for quality nursing care provided to a patient on an individualized basis. They should also respect the rights of patients, a patient’s property, privacy, and family, and provide care without ever judging. Skills that registered nurses are required to perform include administering medications, obtaining vital signs, admitting and discharging patients, ensuring patient safety, etc. The RN may assign specific nursing duties and patient treatments to other qualified personnel based on their credentials and ability to perform the duties. The RN may also assign medication administration duties to other licensed nurses like a licensed practical nurse. The RN is responsible for the evaluation of care as assigned by them. For proper delegation, the following criteria must be used: the right person, the right circumstance, the right supervision, and the right task. If the RN is delegating a task to an LPN, that patient must be stable. As for UAPs, they can complete tasks such as vital signs of a stable patient and assisting with ADLs. Registered nurses are not limited to the areas of medicine in which nursing skills can be carried out. They can work in areas such as clinics, hospitals, home health, schools, correctional facilities, rehabilitation centers, and behavioral centers.
Professionalism is the word to describe what is expected out of registered nurses because they are held to a very high standard. The sole purpose of professional standards is to describe responsibilities for nurses and provide direction for nursing practice. If unprofessional conduct is carried out by a registered nurse, their nursing license may be suspended. In other instances, they may be reprimanded and revoked. Unprofessional conduct consists of falsifying documents, conviction of a felony, negligence, practicing without a state-issued nursing license, violating patient confidentiality, and violating professional boundaries of the nurse-patient relationship.
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Mississippi State Board of Nursing's primary function is to ensure that the rules and regulations are revised, to regulate the safe practice of nursing provided by the state licensure exam, and to also conduct hearings that determine whether or not a nurse will be prosecuted for violating the nurse practice acts. The MSBON has the right to deny, revoke, suspend, or refuse to renew any license to practice based on the violation. In some cases, criminal charges may be brought upon the nurse, which would depend upon the nature of the violation. MSBON performs an investigation if a nurse is reported to them. The investigator presents the evidence collected at a case review and may close the case due to insufficient evidence after the investigation is concluded (MSBN link). MSBON will decide what disciplinary action should be brought against the nurse.
ANA Code of Ethics's sole purpose is to define the principles used to provide care to patients. It has been an important piece in molding the nursing profession. It was written in 1926 and describes the primary goals, values, and obligations of the nursing profession (ANA, 2001). It serves the following purposes: a statement of ethical obligations and duties of every nurse in the profession, the profession’s nonnegotiable ethical standard, and an expression of nursing’s understanding of its commitment to society (ANA, 2001). The Code of Ethics is regularly updated to imitate the changes in health care structure.
There are multiple and many agencies that have an impact on nursing practice. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) is a division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that ensures that the delivery system is effective, safe, patient-centered, timely efficient, and equitable. Institute of Medicine states that “Nurses need to be transformed by practicing to the full extent of their education and training, achieving higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that provides seamless progression, becoming full partners with physicians and other health care providers in redesigning the health care system, and improving data collection and information infrastructure for effective workforce planning and policy-making” (Fundamentals). Joint Commission is another agency that relates to healthcare. It’s a non-profit organization founded in 1951, and its purpose is to improve health care for the public by evaluating healthcare organizations. It also deems whether or not a facility meets the standards of a clean and safe facility (Joint Commission link).
In 1970, the Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) was implemented to assure and create safe working conditions for those in healthcare settings by enforcing job safety standards. Their main goal is to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths (OSHA link). Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is considered the nation’s health protection agency. It supports and conducts health promotion, and prevention, and discovers ways to prevent the spread and outbreak of diseases. They do this by providing relevant health information that protects our nation against dangerous health threats (CDC link). The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is also a government agency of the United States. Its sole mission is to produce evidence to make healthcare safer, to make it more accessible and affordable, and to support research to help improve the quality of healthcare. It also investigates the quality of healthcare delivery and establishes standards for healthcare treatment. The research is to determine ways to better patient care. (Mission and Budget).
The ultimate and common goal of the agencies discussed above is to protect the public from harm. They were initiated based solely on the safety of patients. The agencies contribute to the nursing profession by evaluating the practice of nursing and ethics within the setting of the healthcare field. They were organized to guarantee patient safety and to conduct the nurse practice safely. Each healthcare agency impacts every aspect of nursing care, with the main focus being on nurse practice acts and patient care.
Work Cited
- American Nurses Association (ANA), (2001), Code of Ethics for Nurses, American Nurses Association, Washington, DC. from www.health.mo.gov
- Fundamentals of Nursing, ninth edition. Potter, Perry, Stockert, and Hall. Copyright 2017 by Elsevier.
- National Council State Boards of Nursing, “Model Nursing Practice Act”, revised 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2018 from www.ncsbn.org.
- https://www.cdc.gov/about/organization/mission.htm
- https://www.jointcommission.org/about_us/about_the_joint_commission_main.aspx
- https://www.osha.gov/about.html
- www.Msbn.ms.gov
- www.Nursingworld.org
- www.Registerednursing.org
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