
Subsection (b)(4) of Section 2725, authorizes the nurse to implement appropriate standardized procedures or changes in treatment regimen in accordance with standardized procedures after observing signs and symptoms of illness, reactions to treatment, general behavior, or general physical condition, and determining that these exhibit abnormal characteristics.
Full Answer
What are the regulations for a nurse practitioner?
Nurse Practitioner regulations typically originate from the Nurse Practice Act and various state nursing boards. [3] The American Nurses Association reaffirms that where the Nurse Practice Act only offers vague direction, state regulatory boards provide opinions on an as-needed basis.
Should nurses be allowed to practice alone?
Research shows that in states where nurses can practice independently, physicians and nurses continue to work in the same urban areas, so increasing the independent practice of nurses has not helped solve shortage issues in rural areas.
Should nurses use alternative therapies?
“Nurses should be aware that alternative therapies are not free from risks and contraindications. Many of these therapies interact with conventional medications or treatments, and many others pose risks to patient health,” says Hawkins. “There are also restrictions on how these therapies should be used, even on otherwise healthy patients.
Are alternative-to-discipline programs effective in treating nurses with substance use disorders?
Alternative-to-discipline programs have been highly successful in treating nurses with substance use disorders. Moreover, the long-term recovery rate for nurse licensees undergoing treatment in these programs is high. Last, but by no means least, the public is protected because the nurse licensee is practicing unimpaired.

What is the role of the nurse in healthcare program implementation?
Nurses achieve leadership positions throughout the healthcare system (e.g., organizational, local, state, and federal levels) to design and implement innovative changes to health policy. Nursing organizations monitor health policy regulations to ensure they are supportive of patient care and nursing practice.
What can a registered nurse not do?
Hands-on tasks are often better done by nurses.Nurses cannot make prescriptions of medications.Nurses cannot conduct surgeries and other invasive procedures.Nurses cannot certify death legally.Nurses cannot provide medical diagnosis.Nurses cannot make final decisions for the patient's care.
What are the 6 standards of nursing practice?
STANDARDS OF PROFESSIONAL NURSING PRACTICEAmerican Nurses Association (ANA)ANA Standards of Practice.Standard 1. Assessment. ... Standard 2. Diagnosis. ... Standard 3. Outcome Identification. ... Standard 4. Planning. ... Standard 5. Implementation. ... Standard 6. Evaluation.More items...
What are the 4 scope of nursing?
Positions in nursing education include clinical instructor, tutor, senior tutor, lecturer, and associate professor, Reader in nursing and professor in nursing. Industrial nurses provide first aid, care during illness, health education about industrial hazards and prevention of accidents.
What is a nurse allowed to do?
Nurses have many duties, including caring for patients, communicating with doctors, administering medicine and checking vital signs. Making up for the biggest healthcare job in the U.S., nurses play a vital role in medical facilities and enjoy a large number of job opportunities.
What can nurses do independently?
10 ideas for a self-employed RNProvide independent care. You might provide individual in-home care for patients as a self-employed nurse. ... Work as a nursing consultant. ... Develop products for nurses. ... Provide health counseling. ... Provide fitness advising. ... Teach health courses. ... Work as a freelance writer. ... Work as nurse contractor.More items...•
What are the 7 standards of nursing practice?
The Registered nurse standards for practice consist of the following seven standards:Thinks critically and analyses nursing practice.Engages in therapeutic and professional relationships.Maintains the capability for practice.Comprehensively conducts assessments.Develops a plan for nursing practice.More items...•
What are nursing guidelines?
Clinical Practice Guidelines are statements that include recommendations intended to optimize patient care. These statements are informed by a systematic review of evidence and an assessment of the benefits and costs of alternative care options.
What are the 9 code of ethics for nurses?
What Are The 7 Ethical Principles On Which The Nursing Code Of Ethics Is Based? The 7 ethical principles the Nursing Code of Ethics is based upon include beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, accountability, autonomy, fidelity, and veracity. The following are brief descriptions of each of the ethical principles.
What happens if you work outside your scope of practice?
Nurses who act outside the scope of service of the licensing or certifying body that governs their professional licenses risk losing their job, face punitive damages, or possibly have their license revoked. It is that serious.
What are standard practices?
a set of guidelines that delineate the expected techniques and procedures, and the order in which to use them, for interventions with individuals experiencing a range of psychological, medical, or educational conditions.
Why is it important to practice within your scope of practice?
It is essential that you to investigate and understand your scope of practice prior to providing care. Scope of practice helps to identify procedures, actions and processes an individual is permitted to perform.
What is AANP certification?
A national uniform practitioner assessment system that considers NPs for service will benefit patients and service providers. As such, the AANP promotes Medicare NP certification to provide timely patient care and allow nurse specialists to compete in the health insurance marketplace.
What is the most influential discipline in medicine?
Nursing is one of the most influential disciplines in medicine. According to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, the current agenda among many nursing advocates is to promote a uniform scope of practice. By encouraging all state boards to adopt the Consensus Model for APRN Regulation, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners ...
Can a nurse practitioner refer a patient to a specialist?
Medicaid authorizes nurse practitioners to refer patients to specialists only with physician approval. The physicians must provide documentation, even if they did not participate in the exam. AANP believes that rescinding this regulation will improve access to specialty home medical care.
Does Medicare allow nurse practitioners to take admission exams?
Medicare does not authorize nurse practitioners to conduct admission exams or monthly assessments at skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). NP certification at SNF facilities will increase the resources available to nursing home patients.
Does Medicare allow NPs into ACO?
Although Medicare recognizes independent nurse practitioners as Accountable Care Organization professionals, the agency does not accept independent NP clients into ACO programs, requiring a physician to reassess patients before admittance. Medicare also prohibits qualified NPs from leading, designing, managing or operating a patient-centered medical facility. Amending this law will save time and expenses.
Is NP service as effective as physician treatment?
The organization is well aware of scientific studies that prove that NP service is as effective as physician treatment. Resuming the process of expanding the scope of NP practice among VHA services will improve health care access for our country’s veterans.
Do independent nurse practitioners qualify for Medicaid?
However, independent nurse practitioners do not qualify for any incentives, thereby rendering the program ineffective for communities serviced by private practice NPs. The AANP recommends Congress include independent NPs in the Medicaid incentive scheme.
Why was my nurse license revoked in Connecticut?
Connecticut State Board of Nurse Examiners — Registered nurse license revoked because her practice “posed a threat to public safety” after her license was previously suspended for using marijuana, cocaine and heroin for almost two years.
What to do if you have been reported to the board of nursing?
If you have been reported to your board of nursing for drug or alcohol problems, you need to seek treatment as soon as possible. Boards of nursing are well-versed in substance use disorder, and when there is the option of treatment and aftercare in a confidential manner, an offer to participate in such programs is one that should be accepted. ...
What is alternative to discipline?
Alternative-to-discipline programs are used by boards of nursing to help nurse licensees receive needed treatment and maintain an unencumbered professional nursing license. They provide a “non-punitive, nondisciplinary and usually confidential approach” to the nurse licensee. Treatment and aftercare are included in alternative-to-discipline ...
Is the public protected by nursing license?
Last, but by no means least, the public is protected because the nurse licensee is practicing unimpaired. Boards of nursing that administer alternative-to-discipline programs include Delaware, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan and North Carolina. To check if your state board offers these programs, click here.
Is the use of drugs by nurses higher?
The American Nurses Association has long estimated that misuse of chemical substances among nurses parallels that of mainstream society; however, recent statistics from the CDC reveal that mainstream society substance abuse of illicit drugs or misused prescription drugs is higher.
Does the reader indicate the type of treatment program in which the board was requiring her to participate?
The reader did not indicate the type of treatment program in which the board was requiring her to participate. Because she would be able to keep her license if she enrolled, it sounds as if it may well be an alternative-to-discipline program.
Is alternative to discipline effective for nurses?
Alternative-to-discipline programs have been highly successful in treating nurses with substance use disorders. Moreover, the long-term recovery rate for nurse licensees undergoing treatment in these programs is high. Last, but by no means least, the public is protected because the nurse licensee is practicing unimpaired.
How many patients can you treat with the Support Act?
The SUPPORT Act expands the ability to treat up to 100 patients in the first year of waiver receipt if practitioners satisfy one of the following two conditions: The practitioner provides medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in a "qualified practice setting.". A qualified practice setting is a practice setting that:
What is the 2015 federal guidelines for opioid treatment?
The Federal Guidelines for Opioid Treatment Programs – 2015 serve as a guide to accrediting organizations for developing accreditation standards. The guidelines also provide OTPs with information on how programs can achieve and maintain compliance with federal regulations. The 2015 guidelines are an update to the 2007 Guidelines for ...
What is the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000?
Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 (DATA 2000) DATA 2000, part of the Children’s Health Act of 2000, permits physicians who meet certain qualifications to treat opioid dependency with narcotic medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—including buprenorphine —in treatment settings other than OTPs.
What drugs are covered by the CSA?
This exemption applies only to the prescription of Schedule III, IV, and V drugs or combinations of such drugs, covered under the CSA, such as buprenorphine. An eligible provider may choose to undertake training, or forego it prior to prescribing Buprenorphine.
Who oversees OTP certification?
DPT oversees the certification of OTPs and provides guidance to nonprofit organizations and state governmental entities that want to become a SAMHSA-approved accrediting body. Learn more about the accreditation and certification of OTPs and SAMHSA’s oversight of OTP accreditation bodies.
What is the SUPPORT Act?
The Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities or SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act of 2018 (SUPPORT Act) The SUPPORT Act affords practitioners greater flexibility in the provision of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and extends the privilege of prescribing buprenorphine in ...
What is the nurse practice act?
The Nurse Practice Act for each state will define the process for programs in the state to assist the nurse with returning to work once they are safe to practice. Many states offer a graduated program of returning to work where there is oversight of the nurse with strict restrictions on the work environment.
When did nurses have their licenses revoked?
Prior to the 1980s, before substance abuse was recognized as a disease, nurses were relieved of duty and/or had their nursing license revoked with little recourse or treatment options when found to have a substance abuse disorder. Since that time, many states have enacted non-disciplinary rehabilitation programs to assist nurses with recovery.
Why is it important for nurses to protect patients?
Nurses are entrusted to protect the patients in their care from harm at all times. This protection includes the ability to perform at a high level of critical thinking. Caring for patients while under the duress of substance abuse puts the entire nursing process in harm's way.
What is the challenge of nursing?
A unique challenge to the nursing profession and substance abuse is the access to narcotic medications. Diversion of these drugs for self-use is not only harmful to the nurse, but is also unethical in the failure to protect the patient from harm by diverting the drugs from the patient. Furthermore, the impairment of the nurse may endanger ...
Who report abuse to the Board of Nursing?
The nursing leadership team and human resource leaders are required to, in most states, report the abuse to the Board of Nursing (BON) and the local police authority. Each BON has a process for investigation and varying levels of programs to assist nurses through recovery.
What do nurses need to know about complementary medicine?
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: What Nurses Need to Know. Acupuncture, aromatherapy, supplements, and the like—more and more people across the nation are using these therapies. Because a number of these people will be your patients, it’s important for you, as a nurse, to know complementary and alternative medicine ...
How do nurses train?
Nurses train via interactive distance learning— so they can still work—and most complete their programs within a year. While many institutions teach CAM, Christie advises nurses to use caution: “Only spend time and money on accredited schools.
How many CAM therapies are there?
According to Baxter, there are eight most commonly used CAM therapies in health care: acupuncture, aromatherapy, hypnosis, massage therapy, meditation, Tai Chi, therapeutic touch, and vitamins/herbal supplements. These, she says, are the most researched and studied.
Why do people use aromatherapy oils after surgery?
These, she says, are the most researched and studied. “For example, aromatherapy oils are now used post-op in some hospitals to reduce anxiety and pain after surgery so that patients will require less pain medications.
What is the 8th edition of NCLEX?
Now in its eighth edition, this highly acclaimed, newly revised and expanded text continues to deliver innovative practice guidelines for evidence-based complementary and alternative therapies that can easily be incorporated into curriculum and applied directly to practice. The book describes holistic treatments that are culturally appropriate for clients across the life span and NCLEX®-relevant content appropriate for preparation of advanced practice nurses.
What is the treatment for smoking cessation?
Hypnosis is a treatment that is offered for smoking cessation and obesity treatment. Massage therapy and acupuncture have been demonstrated to be beneficial in addiction treatment. Therapeutic touch has been demonstrated to help with pain in some instances by manipulating the energy fields that surround the body.”.
How is meditation used in psychiatry?
Meditation has been used in psychiatry through progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, and mindfulness meditation to augment the practices of cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectic behavioral therapy.