Regulatory Accountability: The Boundaries of the Nurse Practice Act
Seeing that a nurse must strive to meet the needs of the target population and deliver the services of the finest quality, attempting to provide the services that lie beyond the scope of a nurse’s competence is not only illegal but also detrimental to the well-being of patients. Therefore, when receiving a request compelling them to go outside the boundaries of their practice, nurses must not only refuse to perform the suggested actions but also report the incident correspondingly. Particularly, it is essential to consult with the nurse manager so that the issue should be addressed accordingly.
Indeed, a range of court decisions has stated that a nurse is not allowed and cannot be forced to handle the problems that are outside of the scope of the nurse’s specific practice. In other words, without the required skills and abilities, a nurse is prohibited from performing the relevant tasks (Kroezen, Dijk, Groenewegen, & Francke, 2013). A conversation with a nurse manager, in turn, will help resolve the issue. After the clarification for a nurse, the manager will relieve the nurse of the need to handle the case.
However, in case the manager refuses from reassigning the case to another expert and insists on handling it, a nurse will need to address the state board of nursing. The latter will consider the case, determine whether the instance of placing a nurse outside of the boundaries of their competence has occurred, and state whether the requested services align with the activities that a nurse is licensed to do (American Nurses Association, 2010).
References
American Nurses Association. (2010). Guide to the code of ethics for nurses. Silver Spring, MD: American Nurses Association.
Kroezen, M., Dijk, L. V., Groenewegen, P., & Francke, A. (2013). Knowledge claims, jurisdictional control and professional status: The case of nurse prescribing. PLoS One, 8(10), e77279. Web.