History of Nurse Practice Act - Essay Example

Nurse Practice Act number] The NursePractice Act is a set of state laws aimed to protect the public from unsafe nursing practioners. The Acts’ content is determined by individual state legislatures’, and therefore, the Act may differ from state-to-state. However, the Act has many common issues like establishing the composition and scope of authority for the board of nursing, defining the practice of professional, vocational and advanced practice nursing, setting the requirements to obtain a nursing license, limiting use of the title, “nurse” and listing the grounds for discipline against a nurse’s license. In order to be aware about the legal obligations, a nurse must be familiar with both the Act and also with the regulations associated with it, which will in turn help the nurse practice nursing safely at any location. It is also a fact that despite changes in the Nurse Practice Acts in many states, barriers to nursing practice remain. In the future, clearly stated and uniform standards, scopes of practice, educational requirements, and evaluation of competencies are required Introduction The state nursing practice act is an important legislation affecting nursing practice. The nursing practice acts defines nursing, gives guidance on the scope of practice, and sets standards for the nursing profession. The main purpose of nurse practice acts is to protect the public from unsafe practitioners. The ultimate goal of this act is to provide competent, quality nursing care by qualified nurse practitioners. The purpose of this study was to explore the nurse practice act, to determine the positive and negative effects the nursing act has on nursing practice, and the future of the nursing act. History of Nurse Practice Act The New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) was organized in 1901 with the intention of obtaining a legal credentialing mechanism for nursing practice, and thus protects graduate nurses. The title Registered Nurse, “R.N” was derived from the nurse registration act or the “Armstrong Bill” in 1903. The first license was issued in 1904, to the class of 1902 from the Rochester Homeopathic Hospital (The Nursing Practice Act, n.d.) Purpose of the act Nursing needs to be regulated because if someone who is unqualified or incompetent practices it, considerable harm can occur to the public. Since the public does not have adequate information or experience to identify such a health care provider, they are particularly vulnerable. Thus it is vital that by means of proper regulatory processes, the government permits only those with proper credentials to practice nursing (NCSBN, n.d.) Examining the Act The Nurse Practice Act is a set of state laws, and the statutes are grouped with a chapter of state laws. By ensuring basic requirements for nursing practice, the Act aims to protect the public from an unsafe nurse. Since the legislature of each state determines the Acts content, each states Act may differ. However, in general, many acts address common topics. These include: defining the authority of the board of nursing, it’s composition and powers, defining the practice of professional, practical, vocational, and advanced practice nursing, stating the requirements for licensure, identifying the grounds for disciplinary action against a nurse, and limiting use of the title, "nurse." In order to be aware about legal obligations, a nurse must be familiar with both the Act and also with the regulations associated with it (Cynthia AM, 2004.) Multistate licensure The Act requires that a nurse must hold a license to practice nursing issued by the state in which the nurse is practicing. “A condition of accepting a license in the state is an obligation to abide by that state’s laws and regulations.” (Cynthia AM, 2004.) The authority to develop administrative rules and regulations is given to the Boards of nursing. Nurses, students and the public are allowed to participate in the rule-making process by submitting written comments or participating in rule-making hearings (NCSBN, n.d.) Positive aspects of the Nurse Practice Act Nursing regulations were developed to set certain standards. They determined who was and who was not qualified to practice nursing. The Nurse Practice Act protects the public from any harm by unqualified nursing practioners, and thus helps to safeguard the health of the public. Since nurses can be held accountable for compliance with all laws governing their performance, they should be knowledgeable about all aspects of this Act. This knowledge will help the nurse practice nursing safely at any location. Negative aspects of the Nurse Practice Act In spite of changes in Nurse Practice Acts in many states, barriers to nursing practice remain. In a comprehensive review of states’ regulations, Safriet B (1992) identified three major barriers to practice: the lack of third-party reimbursement, prescriptive authority, and hospital admission privileges. Models like ANA model, the NCSBN model and other hybrid models have been utilized by various states to meet specific needs. There are also at least fifty different nursing practice acts and interpretations. All of these have caused confusion in the nursing community over what is really included in regulations and about descriptive definitions, educational requirements, and the scope and standards of nursing practice (Carson W, 2000.) Factors like disagreement on who should be responsible for continued competence, difficulty in identifying proper regulatory approaches, lack of clarity on what standard should be used to evaluate continued competence etc, have prevented the evolution of a national regulatory solution for evaluating continued competence (NCSBN, n.d) Future of Nurse Practice Act Under the concept of the mutual recognition model for nursing regulation, being developed by The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), a nurse could hold a license in one state but be free to practice in another state, provided they follow the laws and regulations in each state. In the future, regulators will need to create and improve the assessment tools of continued competence. In the near future, the focus will also be on the collaboration between the NCSBN and the advanced practice professional organizations to develop uniform licensure requirements in areas like education, certification, and prescriptive privileges (Vickie R et al., 1998.) Discussion Nurses make the critical, difference in providing safe, high-quality patient care. This is ensured by adequate legislations provided by the Nurse Practice Act. In addition to the immense societal benefits of quality nursing, the cost-effective benefits obtained by avoiding patient death or hospitalization is also significant. In my opinion, the Nurse Practice Act is a vital piece of legislation with the primary aim of safeguarding the public from unqualified nursing practioners. Indirectly, this act also protects the nurses themselves, because by ensuring proper standards and qualifications, the Act ensures nursing quality and prevents unnecessary lawsuits and other medico-legal complications. Proper understanding of nursing regulations will give confidence to practice nursing. It is also my strong opinion that any effort to circumvent or waive licensure requirements by the nursing community should be opposed, and the legal mandate that RNs be accountable to patients for the quality of nursing care should be preserved. Conclusion The Nurse Practice Act ensures minimum standards of nursing practice and aims to safeguard public health. However, there are still barriers to effective nursing practice and some confusion over the finer aspects of the Act. In order to ensure consistency in minimum competencies across state boundaries and between nursing and other disciplines, newer models of licensure should be developed. These newer models should allow flexibility in the changing health-care systems without compromising public safety. The concept of the mutual recognition model for nursing regulation, and improvement in the assessment tools of continued competence will further strengthen the Nurse Practice Act in the future. *************************************************************************** References Carson W (2000). Nursing Futures and Regulation Conference: Summary Report. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Retrieved January 27, 2006, from, Cynthia AM (2004). Inside the Nurse Practice Act. Nursing Management, Sep 2004. Retrieved January 27, 2006, from, NCSBN (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2006, from, Safriet, B. (1992). Health Care Dollars and Regulatory Sense: The Role of Advanced Practice Nursing. Yale Journal on Regulation, 9 (2). The Nursing Practice Act (n.d.). The Armstrong Act of 1903. Retrieved January 27, 2006, from, < http://www.viahealth.org/body_rochester.cfm?id=516> Vickie R et al (1998). Careers 2000: What five regulatory trends mean to you. Nursing, 1998. Read More