The Standards of Professional Performance For Nursing

All professions have as their cornerstone and creed a				Standard II. Performance Appraisal
code of ethics and or professional performance				The nurse evaluates his/her own nursing practice in
standards. The nursing profession is no different. As				relation to the national and state statues set forth
the field of nursing grows and changes in defining the				defining the role of nurse.
role of a nurse, the central theme will always be that				Standard III. Education
of caring. It can be said that, all other duties and				The nurse acquires and maintains current knowledge
responsibilities of nurses have centered around,				in nursing practice. Many states now require
"caring". Caring has been described by many nursing				continuing educational credits to be earned by a
theorist as the innate nature of a human being to be				nurse. The number of credits vary from state to
able to give unconditional help in the form of doing				state. However, a nurse cannot renew their license
for, therapeutic communication, therapeutic touch,				without proof of these continuing educational credits.
compassion, a gentleness of spirit and humbleness of				These credits help to keep the nurse current with
knowing ones self.				new medica/nursingl advancements related to patient
Jean Watson, a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and				care.
Counseling developed a theory of caring first				Standard IV. Collegiality
published in 1979. She believed that caring was central				The nurse interacts with and contributes to the
to the profession of nursing as well as being the				nursing profession by meeting with other
unifying principle of practice. The two major				professionals in the medical field, such as Physicians,
assumptions that she made are as follows:				Physical Therapist, Respiratory Therapists, and Home
1. Care and love constitute the primal and universal				Care Coordinators, to exchange ideas and gain a
psychic energy.				mutual respect while stimulating a leaning environment
2. Care and love are requisite for our survival and the				that all will benefit.
nourishment of humanity.				Standard V. Ethics
Madeleine Leininger, a nurse and anthropologist				The nurse's decisions and actions in helping and caring
proposed a theory of caring based on culture. She				for individuals are based on principles of ethics and
was able to see that how one society defines caring				institutional guidelines.
is not always the same as another society. For				Standard VI. Collaboration
instance, in Asia, looking directly into another's eyes is				The nurse collaborates with other medical
not a sign of respect but a sign of disrespect.				professionals in creating an environment for the
Therefore a western nurse unaware of the Asian				clients that facilitate an increasing continuum of
culture of caring would be seen as an uncaring and				mental and physical wellness.
disrespectful person. Leininger termed this knowledge				Standard VII. Research
of cultural caring as, "transcultural nursing".				The nurse will not cease to expand his/her
"Her beliefs are that culture is the broadest and the				educational horizons, and continue to seek out and
most holistic way to conceptualize, understand, and				explore new areas of research and statistics.
be effective with people." (1)				Standard VIII. Resource Utilization
With the emergence of the, "caring", theorists also				The nurse will participate in committees within the
came the emergence of "Standards of Profession				organization to evaluate and increase the
Performance". The two terms are entwined in their				effectiveness of safety, costs in planning and
definitions. There cannot be one without the other.				delivering patient care.
The American Nursing Association set forth the				It can be seen that within the guidelines of
following requisites for standards of professional				professional performance the center theme is the
performance. It is within these standards that can be				caring for the client from every aspect. It is within
seen the unifying theme of caring.				these guidelines that the nurse can better define his
Standard 1. Quality of Care.				her role as a the one individual who has the ability to
The nurse systematically evaluates and effectiveness				enhance the clients mental and physical wellness by
of nursing practice. The nurse does this by				coordinating, educating, and working with others to
participating in peer review committees and in				promote a caring and supportive environment.
consistently evaluating his/her own performance and				Learn more about nursing education at The NET
how her performance has enhanced the clients health				Study Guide.
and emotional wellness.

Meded Con

The Standards of Professional Performance For Nursing