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PRACTICE STANDARDS

Practice Standards Assignment

Rachel Fox
NURS 320
1) What guides your practice as a nurse? What is a nurse practice act?
My personal practice is guided by my own set of standards and guidelines. As a
new nurse, you are oriented by a preceptor who has been practicing for quite some
time, and has gained lots of knowledge to be passed along. During and after this
orientation process, you take what you have learned from a preceptor, along with the
guidelines for safe care, and create your own method of nursing practice. These
guidelines for safe care stem from things such as a states nurse practice act, and
other organizations practice standards. According to the National Council of State
Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), a nurse practice acts purpose is to provide safe
parameters within which to work, as well as protect patients from unprofessional and
unsafe nursing practice (NCSBN, Inc., 2014). Each state in the US has its own nurse
practice act, and further rules and regulations to help define each specialty of nursing,
and further guide what is safe and unsafe.

2) Do all 50 states have one?

From what I have found, each of the 50 states has some sort of nurse practice
act that the states legislature has put into place as a guideline (NCSBN, Inc., 2014).

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3) What are practice standards?

Practice standards are defined as, authoritative statements that describe the
level of care or performance common to the profession of nursing by which the quality
of nursing practice can be judged. (American Association of Critical Care Nurses, 2014,
para. 1). Since each specialty of nursing is so different and require differing levels of
care, professional organizations surrounding that specialty work to create specific
standards that are appropriate. The standards are considered non-negotiable.

4) Are practice standards something we work toward, or do they represent a minimum?

Since practice standards govern what is safe, I believe the represent a minimum
standard of care. Anything less than the standards would be considered unsafe or
ineffective. Organizations such as the American Nurses Association (ANA) have a Code
of Ethics for nurses, in addition to practice standards. According to the ANA, these
expectations are non-negotiable and each nurse has a duty to comply (ANA, 2014).

5) Do we have any national or international practice standards?

It is my understanding that The Joint Commissions standards are held on a
national level. The Joint Commissions accreditation, or approval, is required by each
hospital in the nation to be considered as operating within minimum standards.
According to The Joint Commission, theyre purpose is to, continuously improve health
care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating health care
organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the

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highest quality and value (The Joint Commission, 2014). Basically, theyre standards
set the bar for what is considered the minimum standard of care.

6) What practice standards are used where you work?

I know positively that McLaren, Flint has been recently surveyed and examined
by the Joint Commission. During an inspection, the Joint Commission identified several
areas that were considered non-compliant. McLaren then had a small period of time to
correct these flaws before a repeat inspection was completed to earn accreditation for
the year. Since The Joint Commission standards are recognized on a national level, I
believe all of their standards apply to each specialty.

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References
American Association of Critical Care Nurses. (2014). Standards. Retrieved April 13,
2014 from http://www.aacn.org/WD/Practice/Content/standards.content?menu=
Practice&lastmenu=
American Nurses Association. (2014). Professional Standards. Retrieved April 13, 2014
from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ThePracticeof
Professional Nursing/NursingStandards
National Council of State Boards of Nursing. (2014). Nurse Practice Act, Rules &
Regulations. Retrieved April 13, 2014 from https://www.ncsbn.org/1455.htm
The Joint Commission. (2014). Facts about The Joint Commission. Retrieved April 13,
2014 from http://www.jointcommission.org/about_us/fact_sheets.aspx