The role and scope of practice of the MSN professional nurse
During your professional practice you may be asked to perform a task that is outside your scope of practice. In order to effectively respond at these times, you will first need to understand how to define your scope of practice. Though you are not fully detailing your scope of practice at this stage, you will explore contributing and regulatory factors that you will need to be aware of. These factors will enable you to define your scope of practice during both your clinical practice experiences and once you complete your MSN work. You need to be able to explain the legal extent of your practice and to understand the scope of other practitioners. This allows you to function effectively in interdisciplinary teams to affect positive patient outcomes.
You will create a concept map that explains all the factors that impact your scope of practice. Then you will select one of the following scenarios that seems most relevant to your future role. Note that some scenarios may be interchangeable with your role, so you may substitute if desired. Based on the scope of practice you have outlined, you will analyze the implications for clinical decision-making to guide what your next steps would be. You, as the Population Health Nurse, receive a notice that there is an outbreak of measles in one of the daycare centers in town.
Concept Map of Factors Impacting Scope of Practice
Regulatory Factors
- Nurse Practice Act: The Nurse Practice Act (NPA) is a law that defines the scope of practice for nurses in each state. It outlines the activities that nurses are authorized to perform, as well as the educational and training requirements that must be met.
- Board of Nursing: The Board of Nursing is a state agency that is responsible for regulating the practice of nursing. It enforces the NPA and investigates complaints of nursing misconduct.
- Other Laws and Regulations: There are a number of other laws and regulations that may impact the scope of practice for nurses, such as those related to controlled substances, mental health, and patient privacy.
- Education and Training: The level of education and training that a nurse has received is a major factor in determining their scope of practice. For example, a nurse with a master's degree in nursing (MSN) may have a broader scope of practice than a nurse with an associate's degree in nursing (ADN).
- Experience: The amount of experience that a nurse has can also impact their scope of practice. For example, a nurse with many years of experience in a particular area of nursing may be more skilled and competent at performing certain tasks than a nurse with less experience.
- Setting: The setting in which a nurse works can also impact their scope of practice. For example, a nurse who works in a hospital may have a different scope of practice than a nurse who works in a public health clinic.
- Interdisciplinary Teams: Nurses often work as part of interdisciplinary teams, which include other healthcare professionals such as physicians, pharmacists, and social workers. In these settings, it is important for nurses to understand the scope of practice for each member of the team so that they can work together effectively and safely.
- Contact the daycare center and the local health department. Work with these organizations to assess the situation and develop a plan to contain the outbreak.
- Educate the public about measles and the importance of vaccination. Provide information about the outbreak and the symptoms of measles. Encourage people to get vaccinated if they are not already immune.
- Offer vaccination clinics in the affected area. This will help to increase vaccination rates and prevent further spread of the disease.
- Monitor the outbreak and make adjustments to the response plan as needed.
- Working with the daycare center and the local health department to contain the outbreak. This may involve isolating infected children, quarantining exposed children, and vaccinating all children and staff at the daycare center.
- Educating the public about measles and the importance of vaccination. This can be done through public service announcements, social media, and community outreach.
- Offering vaccination clinics in the affected area. This can be done through the daycare center, the local health department, or other community organizations.
- Monitoring the outbreak and making adjustments to the response plan as needed. This may involve increasing vaccination rates, providing additional education to the public, or taking other steps to prevent the spread of the disease.