Standards of Practice and Standards of Care for Nurse Practitioners

The Nurse Practitioner’s scope of study often comprise of all the practices granted through certification or licensure by the American Nurses Association. More often, many people tend to confuse the professional roles of nurse practitioners and registered nurses. Nurse practitioners have practice privileges that enable them to perform task that no ordinary nurses can. Based on individual interests, NPs can expand their scope of practice through seeking for further education for specialization 

What distinctions do you see in the medical meaning of NP standards of practice and the legal meaning of standard of care? 

Particular distinctions can be identified when stating the medical meaning of Nursing Practitioner (NP) standards of practice and the legal meaning of standard of care. First, the nursing standards of practice refer to the least professional practice expectations for all practitioners no matter the setting or the role, whereas the legal standards of care refers to conducting actions that are not negligent to the profession or the patients. Simply, standards of practice encompass clinical activity aspect of the patient care. From the definitions, the standards of practice are activities under different state laws, whereas standards of care are provision of services that are consistent with the profession. Besides, certain divergence in the standards of care is likely to cause professional negligence thereby leading to lawsuits. The standards of practice set the conditions for job proficiency. 

What strategies can practitioners use to consistently meet the expected standards of practice and standard of care? 

Nursing practitioners can employ different strategies to meet their professional expectations and avoid negligence through various strategies. For instance, they can conduct assessment diagnostic development of different treatment plans, ensure quality assurance, participate in integrated responsibilities, and enhance patient advocacy. On the other hand, they can ensure that they maintain loyalty within the areas of practice, conduct self-management and assessments, and ensure that they follow all the stipulated guidelines as well as the legislative policies. 

In conclusion, the roles of the nurse practitioners when it comes to standards of practice and standards of care vary along theoretical knowledge and scientific process in practice. The five basic standards of practice for patient care includes assessment, diagnosis, and establishment of treatment plans, plan execution, and plan assessment (Graduate Nursing EDU. Org, 2017). 

Reference

Graduate Nursing EDU. Org. (2017). Retrieved on 10 February 2017 from http://www.graduatenursingedu.org/nurse-practitioner-scope-of-practice/