Topic 4 DQ 1

2 postsRe: Topic 4 DQ 1

Standards of nursing practice provide guidance and expectations of nursing practice and nursing performance, which help define the responsibilities of the nurse. Standards of practice include assessment, diagnosis, planning, coordination of care, health teaching, consultation, prescriptive authority, and evaluation while the standards of performance include ethics, education, evidence-based practice and research, quality of practice, communication, leadership, collaboration, professional performance evaluation, resource utilization, and environmental health (Case de Leonardi, 2014 and cited by Green, S.Z. (2018). Each state has their own Nurse Practice Act that addresses the scope and standard of practice specifically for that state and empowers a board of nursing which creates the administrative rules. Once adopted these rules have the same weight and effect as law (Green, 2018).

The Georgia Board of Nursing has the power to enforce the regulations as defined in the Nurse Practice Act as well as amend them if deemed necessary. The board is in charge of developing state nursing standards, license enforcement and evaluate nursing programs on a regular basis. The board also investigates any complaints against licensed nurses and imposes a disciplinary process. It has the authority to require the surrender of a nursing license during any pending action. The board’s primary purpose is to protect the public.

The Georgia Board of Nursing Nurse Practice Act recognizes that assessment, nursing diagnosis, planning, intervention, evaluation, teaching and supervision are the major responsibilities of a nurse. The steps of the nursing process include assessment, nursing diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation. The Standards of Practice delineate the quality of nursing care that a patient/client should receive regardless of whether it is provided solely by a RN or by a RN in collaboration with other licensed or unlicensed personnel. My current position is in quality. These Standards ensure a responsibility and an accountability of the RN to the patient for the quality of nursing care rendered (Georgia Board of Nursing, Nurse Practice Act, Rules Chapter 410-10 Standards of Care).