Standards of Professional Nursing

Standards of Professional Nursing

Historically, nursing has been there and will continue to be there not only to meet the needs of the client, but also to assist in meeting the needs of friends and families. This means that a professional nurse learns to deliver care artfully with compassion, caring and a respect for people. No one factor differentiates a job from a profession, but the difference is important in terms of how professional nursing is practiced.

As a science, nursing is based upon a body of knowledge that is always changing with new discoveries and innovations. It is an exciting time to become a nurse. Registered nurses in a nursing role specialty, work to influence decision-making bodies to improve patient care, health services and policies.

Professional nursing provides leadership in the practice setting and profession. Professional nurses work to create and maintain healthy work environments in local, regional, national or international communities. They display the ability to define a clear vision, associated goals and a plan to implement and measure progress. Interaction with peers and colleagues to enhance one’s professional nursing practice and performance is encouraged.

The standards of this profession describe a competent level of behavior in activities related to quality of care, performance appraisal, education, ethics, collaboration, research and resource utilization. They provide a method to assure clients that they are receiving high-quality care, that the nurses know exactly what is necessary to provide nursing care, and that the measures are in place to determine whether the care meets the standards.