Free Essay on Roles of Nurses in Statutory Registration and Accountable Practice

The nursing care profession consists of advanced ethical and behavioral procedures that all nurses and midwives must adhere to. This pattern is perhaps the most vital since it encompasses the moral and ethical codes that nurses and midwives are expected to follow. The administrative body for nurses and midwives is currently the Nursing and Midwifery Council NMC, (2008). One of the elements of the NMC is to make set the standards of conduct in professional accountability for nurses and midwives. NMC is responsible for reviewing the principles of proficiency that it sets for nurses. The rules are reviewed and registered regularly to ensure that they remain contemporary and suitable for guiding individuals in the nursing profession. As of NMC, (2008), NMC and other statutory bodies' standards reflect what the public should expect from nurses in terms of delivering competent, compassionate, and safe nursing care. NMC's codes apply to all nurses who are registered. However, the need and the importance of the laws in nursing practice go beyond the interaction between nurses and their patients. This paper will discuss the role of a nurse relative to accountability and statutory registration.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The Role of the Nurse

The most crucial role of a nurse is to be accountable in professional nursing practice. Accountability is an essential aspect for nurses and midwives in health (DrachZahavy et al. 2018). Responsible practice is defined as the assumption of responsibility for one's actions. The idea of responsible practice in nursing expects that the nurse is a professional in the medical field. It relies upon an individual nurse monitoring their membership to the medical profession and living up to the standards, with the rights and obligations that accompany the business. The drive to show accountable practice prompted the formation of a body responsible for setting standards for nurses. A nurse is supposed to make decisions in a wide variety of conditions. Nurses utilize their expert information, judgment, and abilities to settle on choices dependent on the proof for best practice and the individual's eventual benefits. They should be able to legitimize the decisions they make (DrachZahavy et al. 2018). Maier and Aiken (2016) argue that there should be a reasonable differentiation between responsibility and accountability in nursing practice. Liability includes clarifying and advocating activities dependent on sound proficient information and a straightforward, legitimate, and replicable process of making decisions. Nurses who are registered are answerable for all the actions they perform, regardless of whether they are dependent, related, or autonomous Catalano, (2015).

A registered nurse (RN) has processes, actions, and procedures which are regarded competent to perform and are acceptable to follow per the terms highlighted in their professional license. In context to, Catalano (2015) talks about the standards of practice and the nursing scope. In this section of his book, Catalano explains the who, how, where, what, when, and why of nursing practice. By answering these questions, he gives a detailed description of the scope of practice and explains the boundaries for each nursing training level. The profession of nurses recognizes what they should do by considering their abilities. Core competencies are characterized as a mix of knowledge, expertise, attitudes, qualities, and capacities that supports the efficiency of a nurse, Catalano, (2015). This is learned when a nurse has clearly understood the scope of abilities and effective procedures exhibited in the process of administering duties. To react to the demands and impacts of nursing practice, they should be resilient and emotionally-intelligent individuals, who can deal with their well-being and prosperity, and realize when and how to get to help. RNs make a significant commitment to the prevention of ill health, promotion of health, and health protection. They do this by engaging individuals, networks, and populaces to assume responsibility for their own health choices and practices. They do so by supporting individuals to deal with their care where conceivable.

RNs give the initiative in the providence of care for individuals from all demographics- ages, ethnic groups, religions, cultural beliefs, etc. They provide nursing care to individuals who have complex physical, mental, subjective, and social considerations needs (Catalano, 2015). Therefore, they should be flexible so that they can take care of individuals in the hospital, in the community, and in their own homes, where their needs are upheld and overseen. They work with regards to challenging environments, constant changes, various healthcare provision models, volatile socioeconomic conditions, and fast-evolving technology. Expanding coordination of well-being and social care requires RNs to cooperate with others to assume a proactive job in interdisciplinary groups.

Conclusion

A nurse is a respected member of society. Therefore, his/her conduct should reflect the codes stipulated by NMC and other statutory bodies. These codes ensure that nurses uphold the necessary professional boundaries when relating to their patients. The reputation of nurses is significant since it mirrors the societal values on the roles of nurses. Therefore, nurses have the responsibility of being cautious about the form of professional practice.

References

Catalano, J. (2015). Nursing now. Today's issues and tomorrow's trends. Retrieved June 2, 2020, from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

DrachZahavy, A., Leonenko, M., & Srulovici, E. (2018). Towards a measure of accountability in nursing: A threestage validation study. Journal of advanced nursing, 2450-2464. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Towards-a-measure-of-accountability-in-nursing%3A-A-Drach-Zahavy-Leonenko/f607f353d4c8de394f296c6578ad46f82f22ee93

Maier, C. B., & Aiken, L. H. (2016). Expanding clinical roles for nurses to realign the global health workforce with population needs: a commentary—Israel journal of health policy research, 21. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303845564_Expanding_clinical_roles_for_nurses_to_realign_the_global_health_workforce_with_population_needs_a_commentary

NMC. (2008). Nursing and Midwifery Council the Code: Standards of Conduct, Performance, and Ethics for Nurses and Midwives. Nursing and Midwifery Council. https://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/standards/nmc-old-code-2008.pdf