The scope of nursing practice is the set of duties that you, as a nurse, will be required to perform for a particular assignment. Even if you work in a healthcare facility, you may be assigned specific tasks from time to time. Also, when you work in general, you need to know what aspects your practice contains. These are outlined by the American Board of Nursing for different nursing professions. They are different for each state. You must understand the scope of practice in your state in order to do your job effectively.
When you are assigned a task, the following are the three main steps that will help you decide if the work is within your scope or Independent Private duty nursing.
Summarize the tasks involved in the assignment
When you are assigned a task, you should first sit down and chart all the tasks that are included in it. These will be clearly explained to you in most cases, but if not, you can ask your supervisors. Once you have the tasks in hand, you need to consider whether or not you will be able to perform them. It’s not just about the general task you have; you have to check every aspect of the work. If there is something that you think is beyond your scope or capabilities, you should voice your concerns at this stage. If there are any alternatives you want to use, you can make suggestions to your supervisors. The most important point here is that you need to fully understand the job that you have been assigned.
Check the standards and legalities
Nurses work differently in different states. Once you have the job details at your fingertips, you should check to see if these responsibilities fit the scope of your state’s nursing practice. You also have to see what standards are used and if you can meet them. If there is something that you will delegate to other professionals, you will remain responsible for it. Find out which parts of your functions you can and cannot delegate. When you think about delegating, also think about who will delegate the task. The American Board of Nursing has succinct information on what you can do about this.
Plan the work and decide
Now you can decide whether to accept the assignment or not. You have verified what the job entails and have verified it with your own credentials and capabilities. You have seen whether it is legally correct for you to take responsibility and whether you can outsource some of your duties to other people. With all of this knowledge, you can decide if you want to take this job or ask your supervisors to give it to someone else.
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