From time to time I have contact with a group of learners who truly surprise me. They project themselves as being excellent technicians of nursing. I use this term because they can talk about their clinical practice and their belief in giving the best possible care to patients. However, as we work our way through the course material, it becomes evident that they are limited about other aspects of nursing. Their knowledge of ways to protect their license points to a belief that if they do as they are told by their employer, their license and their job will be safe.
If you are a nurse who believes that as long as you are taking care of your patients you will never have to deal with the board of nursing, let me enlighten you a bit. What really surprises me is that many nurses are unaware of the resources available to them so they can remain safe practitioners while acting in a way that will protect their nursing license. I recently had a group of nurses who ‘just didn’t get it’. They were unable to articulate the relationship between patient care and protecting their license.
Most will admit that they’ve tried to read the Nursing Practice Act but are unable to comprehend or interpret its content due to the language. They said they felt frustrated and stopped trying to understand it. In my limited experience, most nurses are unaware that the administrative codes are available to interpret the nursing practice act for clearer understanding.
Because nursing is such a complex profession, another resource unfamiliar to many nurses are the position statements. The board of nursing is very clear in communicating that these position statements do not carry the force of law which means they were not written by the legislature. These position statements are written, reviewed and updated annually so nurses can be aware of the board’s stance or position on select issues related to the practice of nursing. The position statements were written by the board because of practice issues or issues that needed further clarification and insight into the board’s thinking and rationale for their actions. Of note, there are position statements addressing clinical issues and practice and there are others addressing issues that help nurses with decision making about their scope of practice based on educational preparation, as well as experience and emotional and physical ability.
Nurses frequently talk about ethical issues and practice. The topics covered by the board of nursing or other nursing organization deserve mention. Some areas of interest include behaviors relating to practice, fitness to practice, and professional boundaries. There is a code of ethics that serves to describe the values and principles that govern nursing practice, conduct and relationships. The newest revision by the American Nurses Association (ANA) has expanded the provisions and now includes language such as advocacy, civility, moral distress, social media, and end-of-life care, just to name a few.
It is becoming increasingly important for nurses to know which resources are available to help them keep their licenses. By making sure they are safe practitioners, they are able to continue to provide the best care possible to their patients.