Overview of Nursing Practice Regulation - Assignment Example

? Nurse Practice in NYS versus Florida Overview of Nursing Practice Regulation Nursing practice in America has its legal requirements that ensure that the health, safety and overall welfare of the general public are well addressed. The legal requirements for nursing also ensure that the integrity of the profession is well protected. The regulation of nursing practice is stipulated in the Nurse Practice Act (NPA) of every state in the US. Nurse Practice Acts constitutes laws, rules and regulations which govern nursing practices in the particular state. These statutes are a form of state jurisdictions particular to each state, but in many ways, they contain the same information. A noteworthy provision in NPAs is the creation of nursing boards that govern nursing practices in every state. NPAs were not in existence before 1903, hence, before this period, people practiced nursing in whichever manner they wanted. Before this period, quality care to patients was not taken into consideration, thus, the birth of Nurse Practice Acts was a boost towards quality patient care in the US (Fulton, 2010). NYS Nurse Practice Act Established in 1948, the NYS NPA governs nursing procedures in the state. Section 6902 of the Act defines the practice of nursing as a profession of treating and diagnosing people with actual health problems. It further stipulates that registered nurses ought to be licensed when conducting tasks pertaining to health counseling, health teaching and provision of restorative and supportive care (Fulton, 2010). a) License Requirements Anyone using the title of ‘Registered Nurse’’ is expected to get a certificate from the NYS Education Department, and to receive the practice certificate in the state, one must meet the education requirements as stipulated by the department. Furthermore, one must have a registered NYS license that indicates that he/she is a registered nurse. A registered nurse in NYS is expected to specialize in a particular area before a license can be offered. Currently, there are many specialty areas in nursing including Adult Health, Community Health, College Health, Gerontology, Family Health, Neonatology, Pediatrics, Holistic Care, Obstetrics, Gynecology, Palliative Care, Psychiatry and Perinatology (Fulton, 2010). However, one may be authorized to practice in more than one specialty. Before one can be authorized to practice in more than one specialty, one is required to obtain a certificate of every specialty that shows that he/ she has met the set educational requirements. Once the authorization has taken place, one is expected to maintain the professional nurse license and the RN certificate. Certificate fees in each RN specialty area amount to $85, $50 being the application fee and $35 being the initial registration fee. However, these fees are subject to change. Applicants are required not to send fee in the form of cash, but instead they are required to mail their fees and applications to the NYS Education Department. All practitioners who have been licensed are expected to adhere to the NYS NPA rules of conduct. These rules are well defined in the Education Law which has highlighted clearly all definitions of professional and unprofessional conduct. The laws, rules and regulations for RN in NYS are all contained in Title 8 of the NYS Education Law. Therefore, every licensee is governed by these rules and laws (Bullough, 2004). b) Education Requirements and Training Before certification as a NYS RN, one is expected to satisfy the education requirements that are stipulated in the NYS Education Law. One is expected to meet the criteria of section A or section B or section C ,and in addition to this one, must meet requirements for section D. Criteria A requires that one must complete a NP educational program as offered by the NYS Education Department. Criteria B allows one to be a practitioner if there is certification of nursing practice from any of the following; American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, American Nurses Credentialing Center, National Certification Board, Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation and the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board. Criteria C offers one a RN certificate if he/she is a graduate of RN programs that existed before 1st April 1989. The fourth Criteria, D requires that one is able to meet a specific pharmaco-therapeutic requirement regardless of meeting the other criteria (Bullough, 2004). c) Role of Registered Nurses and scope of work in NYS RNs are a vital aspect of the NYS health care system, whereby they provide most of the direct patient care. In emergency units, RNs are the triage personnel whose role is determining severity of conditions and prioritizing patient care accordingly. Another scope in their practice is carrying out treatment plans according to orders of a medical doctor or a NP in a higher post. RNs are used to administer intravenous drug therapy in a hospital scenario and assisting in various needs of customers. The various needs that they assist customers with are minor activities like bathing, shaving, toileting and eating according to requirements. Furthermore, RNs monitor patient conditions so that they give reports to MDs. The RN constantly monitors vital signs, blood pressure and respiratory rates of patients as warranted by the doctor. The Florida Nursing Practice Act Just like the NYS NPA, the Florida NPA was created so that safety of patients in the state would be assured during treatment and consultation. The Florida Senate included the NPA to the statutes of the state in 2002, and ever since, all nurse professionals are expected to adhere to the rules and regulations of professional conduct. Two agencies are responsible for ensuring that nurses are compliant to the legislation and that, the administration of every nursing unit in the state follows the set statutes. Another similarity between the Florida NPA and the NYS NPA is that they both regulate and license nursing professionals in their respective states. 1) License Requirements Licensure procedures between the NYS and the Florida state vary in the sense that unlike in the NYS where applications were made to the Education Department, licensing applications in Florida are made with the Florida Department of Health. All licensees are required to submit written applications, ensure that they have paid the appropriate fees and provide information that would enable the department conduct a criminal check. Similarly, potential licensees in the state of Florida are expected to have acquired a degree from high school or any equivalent institution. Moreover, one is expected to have completed an approved nursing program in the state, and they should also be fluent in English. Therefore, license requirements of these two states are similar, the major difference being the body that the licensees are expected to apply to before they can be offered certification. Besides, the two states are similar in the sense that all licensees are required to adhere strictly to the professional codes of conduct of the profession, failure to which the license will be revoked and one would not be able to continue practicing in the state. 2) Rules and Regulations The purpose of the Florida NPA is to ensure that nurses who do not meet certain requirements as outlined in the rules and regulations are banned from practicing in the entire state. Just like in the NYS, the Florida Act applies to licensed NPs, registered nurses, clinical specialists in nursing, advanced registered NPs and to all nursing education programs of various schools, universities and colleges. The Florida board of Nursing was established as a component of the Florida Department of Health with the purpose of overseeing and enforcing the mandate of the NPA (Bullough, 2004). Governing rules and laws of the Florida NPA are contained in chapter 464 of the state statute. Besides, the Administrative Code 64B9 in Florida has 17 chapters that pertain to the Board of nursing of Florida. This board oversees disciplinary actions, law enforcement and licensure requirements so that there is continued safety and provision of quality nursing services in the state. 3) Role of Registered Nurses and scope of practice in Florida state Just like in the NYS NPA, RNs in the Florida NPA have similar roles and scope of work. They are a vital aspect of the Florida health care system, whereby they provide most of the direct patient care. In emergency units, RNs are the triage personnel whose role is determining severity of conditions and prioritizing patient care accordingly. Another scope in their practice is carrying out treatment plans according to orders of a medical doctor or a NP in a higher post. RNs are used to administer intravenous drug therapy in a hospital scenario and assisting in various needs of customers. The various needs that they assist customers with are minor activities like bathing, shaving, toileting and eating according to requirements. Furthermore, RNs monitor patient conditions so that they give reports to MDs. The RN constantly monitors vital signs, blood pressure and respiratory rates of patients as warranted by the doctor. Apart from these roles, their scope also includes updating patient documents so that MD will have an easy time reviewing them. NPs versus RNs A nurse practitioner (NP) is a registered nurse who has an advanced academic and clinical experience. These qualifications have enabled him/her to diagnose, manage and treat all ailments that patients have. The NP can be an independent person or he can be part of a healthcare system in a state. Therefore, a NP has more experience in patient care as compared to a RN who has not advanced in clinical experience and practice. Besides, the focus of NP is health maintenance; prevention of disease; counseling and educating people on various issues. Therefore, a NP is advanced in the roles performed as compared to a RN whose major roles are engaging in direct contact with patients and assisting them accordingly. The similarity in the work of RNs and NPs is that, they are both employed under certain specialties of the hospital setting. This includes neonatology, child health, mental health etc. However, unlike RNs, NPs are specialized in their duties. RNs, on the other hand, work under various departments since they are not specialized in their work. A RN will need to have enough clinical experience before he/ she can be allowed to pursue a program for NPs. NP programs are demanding, and they involve intensive preceptorship that is under the supervision of a NP or a physician. They also require that one has a graduate degree in nursing theory and research. Regardless of these differences, NPs and RNs promote health care through their activities, and they emphasize noteworthy health and wellness of the patients that have been placed under their care. The only difference in their practice crops from the fact that, NPs have undergone advanced education and clinical programs so that they are well versed at providing patient care to people of all ages. Despite this, the two work collaboratively in health care systems. References Bullough, V. L. (2004). American Nursing: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume 3. New York: Springer Publishing Company. Corporation, S. (2009). Nurse's legal handbook. New York: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Janet S. Fulton, B. L. (2010). Foundations of clinical nurse specialist practice. New York: Springer Publishing Company. Systems, A. L. (2009). The state legal guide to nursing. California: Cengage Learning. Read More