Professional Standards Essay

 Professional Standards Essay

Nurses are charged with providing high-quality patient care while preventing unsafe and unethical care practices. To achieve this goal, nurses must follow the standards and guidelines established by their state’s Nurse Practice Act. Delegation is an essential aspect of nursing practice, and the registered nurse has the authority to assign tasks to other healthcare team members based on their competence and scope of practice. However, the RN remains accountable for the delegation decision and the results of the delegated task. This essay will compare and contrast delegation scenarios in nursing practice, emphasizing the significance of making appropriate and safe delegation decisions to ensure patient safety and ethical practice.

 State of Virginia’s Nurse Practice Act

The State of Virginia’s Nurse Practice Act defines delegation as a registered nurse authorizing an unlicensed person to perform specific nursing tasks and procedures in accordance with the Virginia State Nurse Act. An unlicensed person refers to an appropriately trained individual who functions in a complementary or assistive role to a registered nurse in providing patient care or carrying out common nursing tasks (Virginia General Assembly, 2021). However, the RN is still responsible for the delegation decision and the results of the delegated task.

In the scenario, the RN requested that the nursing assistant remove an IV from a patient ready to be discharged. Removing an IV is a nursing task that falls within the scope of a licensed nurse’s practice. According to the Nurse Practice Act of Virginia, registered nurses (RNs) may delegate some tasks to unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP), such as nursing assistants, if the task is within their competency and scope of practice (Huynh & Haddad, 2022). The delegation, however, must be appropriate and safe for the patient.

In this case, the RN should have given the nursing assistant specific instructions or directions on removing the IV, raising questions about the appropriateness and safety of the delegation decision. Furthermore, the nursing assistant’s competency and training in IV removal should have been discussed, raising concerns about the safety of the delegation decision. As a result, it is appropriate for the RN to delegate the task of removing the IV to the nursing assistant if they provide proper instruction and direction and ensure the nursing assistant’s competence in performing the task.

Comparison with the Texas State’s Nurse Practice Act

The Texas State Nurse Practice Act defines delegation as transferring authority to a competent individual to perform a specific nursing task or activity in a specific situation (Barrow & Sharma, 2022). In Texas, registered nurses (RNs) can delegate tasks to licensed vocational nurses (LVN) and unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) based on their competency and scope of practice. The RN is responsible for the delegation decision and the outcomes of the delegated task.

The RN in the scenario requested that the nursing assistant remove the IV, which is within the scope of practice of LVNs and UAPs in Texas. However, under the Nurse Practice Act of Virginia, the RN must ensure that the delegation decision is appropriate and safe for the patient and that the individual to whom the task is delegated is competent to perform the task. As a result, according to the Texas Nurse Practice Act, the RN can delegate the task of removing the IV to the nursing assistant if the nursing assistant is competent to do so and the delegation decision is appropriate and safe for the patient.

 Comparing and Contrasting Delegation Scenarios in Nursing Practice

I recently delegated the task of measuring a patient’s vital signs to a nursing assistant in my nursing practice. This delegation decision was appropriate and safe for the patient because it was within the nursing assistant’s scope of practice. I ensured the nursing assistant possessed the necessary competency to perform the task. On the other hand, the delegation scenario described in the question does not meet the criteria for appropriate and safe delegation because the RN provided no specific instruction or direction to the nursing assistant and did not ensure the nursing assistant’s competency in performing the task.

Conclusion

Professional standards are critical in nursing to ensure high-quality care and patient safety. When delegating tasks to other healthcare team members, nurses must follow the guidelines established by their state’s Nurse Practice Act and make appropriate and safe delegation decisions. When delegating tasks to unlicensed assistive personnel, the scenarios presented in this essay emphasize the importance of providing proper instruction, direction, and competency. Nurses can provide ethical and practical patient care by adhering to these standards and guidelines.

References

Barrow, J. M., & Sharma, S. (2022, July 25). Nursing five rights of delegation. National Library of Medicine; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519519/

Huynh, A. P., & Haddad, L. M. (2022, July 18). Nursing practice act. PubMed; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559012/

Virginia General Assembly. (2021, September 14). 18VAC90-19-240. Definitions for delegation of nursing tasks and procedures. Law.lis.virginia.gov. https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title18/agency90/chapter19/section240/

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Activity 3
Professional Standards
Nurses must act to prevent unsafe and unethical care practices. Many resources exist to resolve ethical and other practice dilemmas.
Watch the Professional Standards Scenario in this module (below) before continuing.
Once you’ve watched the scenario, analyze it related to delegation according to your own state’s Nurse Practice Act and compare it to one other state’s Nurse Practice Act. According to your state’s definition of delegation, was the nurse able to delegate this task to the nursing assistant? Why or why not? Compare and contrast this scenario with anther delegation scenario from your nursing practice.
Resources:
• Your state nursing board website
• American Nurses Association (ANA) and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) Joint Statement on Delegation

Additional Instructions:
1. All submissions should have a title page and reference page.
2. Utilize a minimum of two scholarly resources.
3. Adhere to grammar, spelling and punctuation criteria.
4. Adhere to APA compliance guidelines.
5. Adhere to the chosen Submission Option for Delivery of Activity guidelines.
Submission Options
Choose One: Instructions:
Paper • 2 page paper. Include title and reference pages.

Professional Values – Professional Standards
Description: The baccalaureate-graduate nurse discusses potential solutions to the looming shortage of professionals who staff the health care systems and identifies personal and professional values and recognize their impact on decision-making and professional behavior.
Course Competencies: 3) Examine common issues in health care, including funding, management and delivery systems. 5) Articulate the key elements of creating a safer health care environment.
QSEN Competencies: 1) Patient-Centered Care, 2) Teamwork and Collaboration, 5) Safety
BSN Essential VIII
Area	Gold Mastery	Silver Proficient	Bronze Acceptable	Acceptable Mastery not Demonstrated
Include your state’s and a comparison state’s definition of delegation	Includes your state’s and a comparison state’s definition of delegation	Includes your state and a comparison state but does not include full definition	Mentions your state and a comparison state but does not include full definition	Does not include your state’s and/or a comparison state’s definition of delegation
Discusses, the scenario according to your state’s definition of delegation. Was nurse able to delegate this task to an unlicensed personal? Why or why not?	Fully demonstrates the identification of the nurses’ role according to the state’s law on delegation within scenario, including why or why not	Fully demonstrates the identification of the nurses’ role according to the state’s law on delegation within scenario, does not include why or why not	Superficially identifies nurses’ role according to the state’s law on delegation within scenario	Does not identify the nurses’ role according to the state’s law on delegation within scenario
Compare and contrast a personal scenario with another state’s laws of delegation.	Fully demonstrates the identification of the nurses’ role according to another state’s law on delegation within a personal scenario	Superficially identifies the nurses’ role according to another state’s law on delegation within a personal scenario	Superficially identifies the nurses’ role according to another state’s law on delegation without a personal scenario	Does not identify the nurses’ role according to another state’s law on delegation within a personal scenario
APA, Grammar, Spelling, and Punctuation	No errors in APA, Spelling, and Punctuation.	One to three errors in APA, Spelling, and Punctuation.	Four to six errors in APA, Spelling, and Punctuation.	Seven or more errors in APA, Spelling, and Punctuation.
References	Provides two or more references.	Provides two references.	Provides one references.	Provides no references.