DOI: 10.1097/NHH.0b013e31828bcd88

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PMID: 23549247

Issn Print: 0884-741X

Publication Date: 2013/04/01


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We Need Your Input … This Is Your Opportunity to Have a Voice in the Future of Your Profession

Marilyn D. Harris

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Author Information: , MSN, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, is the Chair of the Work Group, Home Health Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice, Abington, Pennsylvania.

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Excerpt

The authority for the practice of nursing is based on a social contract that acknowledges the professional rights and responsibilities of nursing and includes mechanisms for public accountability. Nursing's Social Policy Statement: The Essence of the Profession (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2010b, p. 92) states “Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human responses, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and population.”
Nursing: Scope & Standards of Practice (ANA, 2010c) outlines the expectations of the professional role of the registered nurse. This 2010 scope statement and these updated standards of nursing practice guide, define, and direct professional nursing practice in all settings. This 2010 publication is to be used in conjunction with Nursing's Social Policy Statement: The Essence of the Profession (ANA, 2010b) and the Guide to the Code of Ethics for Nurses: Interpretation and Application (ANA, 2010a). These three professional resources provide a complete and definitive description for better understanding by specialty nursing organizations, policy makers, and the public of nursing practice and nursing's accountability to the public in the United States.
The ANA has actively engaged in scope of practice and standards development initiatives since the late 1960s (ANA, 2010c, p. 96). Specialty standards are based on the ANA's Nursing: Scope & Standards of Practice (2010) that provides the template for the practice of professional nurses as well as a reference for consumers, payers, legal counsel, and policy makers. The ANA published the first Scope and Standards of Home Health Nursing Practice in 1986. This publication was revised in 1992, 1999, and 2007. It is time for another revision. The 2007 document is being updated to reflect the current and future scope and standards of practice.
In the summer of 2011, the ANA issued a call for home healthcare registered nurses to volunteer to update the 2007 scope and standards. Professionals responded and have been working on the document in small groups and through frequent conference calls since March 2013. The goal is to complete the revisions later in 2013 to facilitate public comment and the ANA review processes prior to publication.
I am writing to you to share this important information for several reasons:
The following topics are being addressed by the work group:
What is our title?
Who are we?
What education/certification do we need to prepare for this specialty?
Where does the patient live? Where do we practice?
When do we work?
What care do we provide and to whom?
What are our roles?
Issues and trends
Research in home care
Myriad challenges are faced every day. The updated document will delineate the scope and standards of our practice. It will guide, define, and direct professional nursing practice in the home care setting for at least the next 5 years until the next revision. Now is the time to envision the future of our specialty. Now is the time to be an active participant in improving our specialty and the care provided for our patients. Now is the time to participate in this important professional nursing responsibility!
I value your participation and look forward to hearing from you about the survey. Please send your comments to me as soon as you read this article. They are due by May 1, 2013.
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