NUR 115 Harmon - TEST 2

Professional Nursing Organizations - the vehicle through which nursing takes collective action to improve both the nursing profession and health care delivery Public, Nursing Profession as a whole, Individual members - Groups which benefit from nursing associations Membership in a professional organization - Essential for professionals Ask Key Questions - How prospective members can help themselves to wisely select the nursing associations they choose to join Where professional nurses and professional organizations can offer much help - Formulating policy decisions at federal, state, and local levels in each branch of government. Areas where organized nursing involved at many levels - 1. Promoting comprehensive health reform 2. Creating a safer work place Ways to become politically active - 1. Sign name to support an issue 2. Register to vote 3. Organize a project 4. Speak out on an issue Meaning of empowerment - One person's political involvement can make a difference. Who benefits from nurses' involvement in political processes - 1. Nurses 2. The Nursing Profession 3. Recipients of health care Purposes of professional nursing organizations - 1. Set professional standards of practice 2. Ensure ethical conduct of members 3. Ensure high quality care to all patients 4. Leadership opportunities 5. Meet present and future challenges..."what's going on now, and which direction are things heading?" Benefits of belonging to a professional nursing organization - 1 develop leadership skills. 2. Certification research opportunities 3. Defining practice standards and redefining policies 4. Legislative lobbying power 5. Publications 6. Heath/life/malpractice insurance 7. Continuing education 8. Discounts 9. Networking with peers Is the purpose of the ANA broad or narrow? - Broad - it is the umbrella over state nurse associations, as well as over the National Student Nurses Association Purposes of ANA - 1. Improve health standards and availability of health care for all people 2. Foster high standards of nursing 3. Stimulate and promote the professional development of nurses 4. Advance economic and general welfare for nurses Magnet Recognition Program Recognizes: - 1. Health care organizations that provide nursing excellence 2. Quality patient care 3. Innovations in professional nursing practices and strategies Benefit of Magnet Recognition Program to the Public - provides consumers with the ultimate benchmark to measure the quality of care they can expect to receive Magnet Recognition Program - Program of American nurses' credentialing center, part of the ANA Benefit of Magnet Recognition to Nurses - disseminates successful nursing practices, because it fuels competition between nursing professionals Functions of the National Student Nurses' Association - 1. Promotes professional growth 2. Discounts on products 3. Voice for nursing students 4. Mentor students 5. Promote development of skills 6. Advocate high-quality health care What is the oldest nursing association? - The NLN, formed in 1893 ACEN - Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing Purposes of the NLN (National League of Nursing) - 1. Advances quality nursing education 2. Quality nursing for all types of nursing programs LPN - Practical Nursing ADN - Associate Degree in Nursing BSN - Bachelor of Science in Nursing MSN - Master Degree in Nursing "The Law" as it pertains to nursing - a system of rules that governs conduct and attaches consequences to certain behavior Types of consequences - 1. Civil action 2. Criminal action 3. Both What is nursing practice limited by? - 1. The definition of "practice" in the state nurse practice act 2. The qualifications for licensure to practice nursing in that state The law is _______. - Dynamic The law must be responsive to _______. - Society's needs What has increased the possibility of legal actions involving nurses? - Broadening the scope of nursing practice Concerns which have arisen and increased due to technological advances - 1. Informed consent 2. Patients' rights to direct he care they choose to receive or refuse What must a nurse remember to do when using social media? - Maintain firm professional boundaries with current and former patients The use of social media may _________ between personal and professional boundaries. - Blur Many nurses have _______ knowledge of legal issues affecting nursing practice. - Inadequate Nurse Practice Act - Statute that defines and controls nursing Most important statutory law affecting nurses in each state - Nurse Practice Act State Board of Nursing - regulatory bodies by which the Nurse Practice Acts are administered and enforced Statutory Laws or Statutes - laws established through a formal legislative process Civil Law - recognizes and enforces the rights of individuals in disputes over legal rights or duties of individuals in relation to one another Criminal Law - Involves concerns regarding an individual's unlawful behavior that threatens society, and is usually punished through some degree of the loss of freedom What Do the Nurse Practice Acts "Do" for nursing? - 1. Defines the practice of professional nursing 2. Sets educational requirements/qualifications for licensure 3. Determines legal titles which nurses can use 4. Provides for disciplinary action of licensees for certain causes Over which states do the nurse practice acts have jurisdiction? - ONLY the state(s) in which a nurse practices (**NOT the state in which the nurse lives) Malpractice - negligence in the profession Negligence - occurs when a nurse fails to act as a reasonably prudent professional would have under the same circumstances Negligence (does/does not) have to be intentional. - DOES NOT Negligence by commission - doing something that should not have been done Negligence by omission - failing to do something that should have been done Assault - threat or attempt to make bodily contact with another person without consent Battery - an act carried out; the unprivileged touching of one person or another A person (does/does not) have to be injured to be the victim of battery. - DOES NOT Central question in any charge of malpractice - Was the prevailing standard of care met? Nursing Standard of Care - what the reasonably prudent nurse would have done under similar circumstances Prevailing - the standard of care in effect at the time of the negligent act Prevailing standard of care (changes/remains the same) over time. - CHANGES Requirements of Malpractice - 1. The nurse has specialized knowledge and skills 2. Through the practice of that specialized knowledge, the nurse caused the patient's injury Elements of Cause of Action for Negligence which must be proven in determining malpractice - 1. Nurse assumed responsibility for the patient's care 2. Nurse breached duty of care by failing to meet the standard of care 3. Failure of nurse to meet the standard of care was the proximate cause of inury 4. The injury is proved Delegation - giving authority to one to act for another Example of Delegation in Nursing - Delegating tasks to unlicensed help, such as a CNA or student nurse tech