Regulation of Nursing Flashcards
What is the common framework across all health professions under the HPA?
- Registration
- Continuing competence
- Restricted activities
- Professional conduct
- regulation, bylaws, code of ethics and standards of practice
- protected titles
What does the health professions act legislation require?
This legislation requires (and gives authority)
to health professional colleges to follow rules
for investigating complaints, setting educational standards, ensuring ethical
practice, and setting practice standards for registered members.
Who is responsible for establishing and enforcing safe, ethical, professional practice set by the HPA?
CRNA
What do professional colleges do?
- Govern and regulate the practice of
their members in manner to protect and serve public interest - Protects public from incompetent
and unethical practice
What does the HPA expect CRNA to do?
- govern members in a manner to protect the
public interest - regulate the practice of the profession including
the setting of qualifications for entering the profession - establish, maintain, and enforce standards for
registration and standards of practice - establish, maintain, and enforce code of ethics
- approve programs of study and other courses
for the purposes of registration requirements - develop and enforce continuing competence
program to ensure practicing registrants are
maintaining competency in their practice - address complaints
What is the CRNA under the Health professions act?
The regulation of registered nurses came under the Health Professions Act (1999) bringing the largest
group of health-care professionals in the province under the Act and changing the name of the
regulatory body for registered nurses to the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta
(CARNA)
CRNA endeavors to ensure that all Alberta RNs and NPs provide safe, competent and ethical nursing
care by:
1) setting the qualifications for entering the profession
2) approving nursing education programs in the province that prepare individuals to enter the profession
3) issuing practice permits only to those who meet the legislated and regulatory requirements
4) developing and enforcing professional and ethical standards for the desired and achievable level of performance against which nursing practice can be measured
5) developing and enforcing a continuing competence program to ensure that practicing members are maintaining competence in their practice
6) taking action when a member of the public, an employer or a CARNA member submits a complaint about the practice
of a regulated member
7) advocating for a high quality, cost-efficient health-care system that makes the best use of the knowledge and skills of RNs
8) providing progressive, innovative leadership that encourages professional excellence and influences health policy
What is registration?
the individual is a member of the provincial or
territorial nursing college
What is licensing?
Once registered, and having also demonstrated that
they meet all provincial or territorial requirements for RN practice, a license is issued
This means they are authorized to practice in that particular province or territory
What are Standards of Practice?
- are established by all nursing regulatory bodies across Canada
- reflect the philosophy of nursing practice and codes of ethics
- are relevant to malpractice and negligence issues
- provide directly relevant evidence of the standard of care
- provide criteria by which a nurse’s conduct will be judged in legal or disciplinary proceeding
What do most standard of practice do?
- provide a guide for safe practice
- describe nurses’ responsibilities and accountabilities
- provide performance criteria and ensure continuing competence
- interpret scope of practice
- provide direction for nursing education and research-based practice
- facilitate peer review and quality improvement
- CRNA Practice Standards
What are entry level competencies?
- Set by provincial regulatory body
- Fairly consistent across the country
- Form part of the requirement for initial licensure
- Often used to guide the development of nursing education programs
What are continuing competencies?
- After initial licensure, must demonstrate a commitment to continued competency
- Requires nurses to continually integrate and apply new nursing knowledge into their practice
in order to remain current and safe - Links to code of ethics, standards of practice, and lifelong learning
What is self regulation?
- This privilege (not a right) is granted through legislation
- Allows a profession to govern its own members
- Comes with responsibility to protect public interest/trust
- When nursing care is seemed unsafe,
incompetent, or unethical, the regulatory body intervenes and places
the interest of the public ahead of the interests of the offending nurse
What is a scope of practice?
Describes the activities/interventions that a professional is authorized to perform (educated on and
competent)
What are other factors to consider for scope of practice?
- Client need
- Practice environment
- Policies/standards of employer
- Nurse’s knowledge/competence/experience
What are the different categories of nurses in Canada?
- Licensed Practical Nurses
- Registered Nurses
- Nurse Practitioner
- Registered Psychiatric Nurses
What is the role of RN’s in comparison to LPN’s?
- Have a lengthier and more in-depth education, usually at the university level
- Stronger focus on critical thinking, critical analysis, evaluation
- Care for more complex and unpredictable client populations
- Have more opportunities to specialize
- Leadership in practice, education, administration, research, policy development with opportunities for advanced practice
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