NPA The Nursing Practice Act Cody Gammons Nursing roles 1 Nursing Practice Act The Nursing Practice Act (NPA) is one of the most important state law governing nursing practice.it defines the scope and limitations of professional nursing practice. The NPA was written to protect the public, and to hold the individual nurse responsible for his or her actions. According to Cherry and Jacob (2014), “Once these administrative rules and regulations are formally adopted, they have the same force and effect as any other law.” Although NPAs vary from state to state they usually contain the following information: Definition of the term RN, description of professional nursing functions, standards of competent performance, behaviors that represent misconduct or prohibited practices, grounds for disciplinary action, and fines and penalties the licensing board may levy when a NPA is violated. Surprisingly, many nurses are not even aware that the NPA is a law. They are not familiar with the administrative rules and regulations enacted by the licensing board.
Hence, nurses have the responsibility to advocate patients and help them out. Nurses engaged in professional activities should have the manner that protects patients’ autonomy in order to advocate for patients. According to Mahlin’s article, “Individual Patient Advocacy, Collective Responsibility and Activism Within Professional Nursing Associations”, “Patient autonomy is an essential part of patient advocacy” (Mahlin, 2010). Every patient has the right to choose whether to be involved in planning their health plan or not, because patients have autonomy to make the decision. As nurses, we should seek available resources to help patients to formulate decisions to utilize their rights and achieve their expectations if they confront a dilemma or they have inadequate health knowledge.
If instances occur where a nurse has violations against the act it also details the different types of disciplinary actions that the nurse may be subject to. The act not only provides guidelines for nurses however, it details the guidelines for APN’s as well as the board members. The act can be view online for any state. It is imperative that all nurses and aspiring nurses go over and thoroughly read there act for the state of practice. Nursing Practice is a profession in the health care field that affects the public health, safety, and the welfare.
The Nursing Code of Ethics covers respect and dignity in relationships with patients and colleagues. The nurse’s primary commitment is to the patient. The nurse advocates for privacy and confidentiality of the patient and is responsible for reporting unsafe practice. He or she is expected to be responsible and held accountable for his actions, including delegation of tasks. Nurses must be of a high integrity, have self-respect, be willing to grow professionally and educationally and have a strong moral fiber.
Nightingales theories of environment and sanitary conditions have influenced my professional practice as well as modern day nursing. Nightingale’s theory focused on altering the patient's environment in order to affect change in his or her health. (Nursing Theory 2013) Each time I work I prepare to give care following basic sanitary and clean, hands on care, just as Nightingale would have. Today nursing procedures are guided by the fact that they need to be either clean, or sterile technique. This includes making sure the patients environment is clean and sanitary, just how Nightingale would have wanted.
The ANA code of ethics has provisions in place to assist in a decision for this case. Provision 1 protects human dignity, the right to self-determination. Provision 2 protects the patient's interests and facilitates collaboration among health care providers. Provision 3 and 4 provides standards, accountability, responsibility for nursing judgment and action. In the case of malpractice witnessed by a nurse against a fellow nurse and the facility that they worked, the code of ethics also has provisions to protect nurses as well.
The Board of Nursing is designed to set statues, maintain structure and provide discipline for the professional nurse. The Board of Nursing is also tasked with the very important role of protecting the public from harm, while seeking
It’s the patient’s responsibility to go to a doctor who has credibility and knows what they are doing. Patients should trust their physician and tell them everything and shouldn’t question what their physician is giving them. A patient should never contact their doctor during eating hours and sleeping hours. If for whatever reason, a patient doesn’t want to see their doctor anymore, the doctor should be given a reason why that is. And finally, one a patient has been treated they should acknowledge what has been done for them and always appreciate what their doctor has done.
Comparison Question number One The comparison of two nursing positions is a BSN prepared ICU staff nurse and an ICU nurse educator with the education preparation in MSN in Nurse Education. Both nurses are required to have a nursing license for the state they work in in order to be employed as a nurse. Other certifications that are required in order for nurses to care for patients in the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) are: Basic Life Support/Advanced Cardiac Life Support (BLS/ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), and Trauma Nurse Core Course (TNCC). These licenses and certifications are required whether a nurse has an Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN), a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), or a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN). On any nursing unit, both of these RNs are able to care for patients, go over patient, family, and discharge teaching, and be in charge of other nurses.
This is to ensure that the practitioners remain professional, protect the public and provide a high standard of practice at all times. (GMC 2006, NMC 2008, HPC 2008). The Nursing Midwifery Council (2008) states that If a nurse doesn’t adhere to the code of conduct as part of being professional, then there will be an investigation to assess the individual, they will attend a hearing and possibly be removed from the register, therefore this is protecting patients from harm and improving the practice of nurses and midwifes by ensuring they