Nurses have an essential role in helping patients undergo their treatment, recover from injuries, and improve their health. Performing these professional duties requires serious expertise, proper competence, specialized knowledge, and skills, which are obtained during prolonged periods of training and learning. The risks involved in the nursing occupation are high, and sometimes slight mistakes or lack of understanding of certain procedures can cause considerable harm to the client’s health. The Nursing Practice Acts (NPA) constitute a body of laws adopted by each state in order to ensure public health and safety and to prevent incompetent individuals from entering the profession.
California is not an exception and also has its NPA, which regulates the nursing occupation at the state level. Thus, it is of great importance for nurses working in California to be familiar with this document and aware of all the changes added to it. The purpose of this paper is to identify the primary functions of the California Nursing Practice Act and hospital policies, as well as to explore their impact on my professional status as a registered nurse.
The California Nursing Practice act and hospital policies and procedures have a variety of essential functions. One of the main purposes of the NPA is to establish a board of nursing, an administrative body which is tasked with developing and introducing new regulations which specify the law. These rules have to comply with the NPA and undergo a public review before being enacted (Russell, 2017). Additionally, in California, this act contains requirements for different types of nursing professionals, including midwives; it establishes rules for nursing schools and programs, as well as for nursing corporations.
On the other hand, hospitals also can have internal policies and procedures, which function is to keep the staff updated about safety protocols concerning the welfare of the patients (Jackson, 2017). These policies are based on the standards on regulations adopted by the states and required for educating employees and patients about the existing norms concerning their safety.
The California Nursing Practice Act has a considerable impact on my status as a registered nurse since it regulates many aspects of my work. For example, it postulates that I have to renew my nursing license every two years and, on every occasion of renewal, present evidence that I pursued a course to continue my education (Nursing Practice Act, 2021). This law ensures that I, as a medical professional, will be aware of the recent development in the sphere of nursing and will have enough competence to proceed with my practice. The act also stipulates that I can be placed on probation, and my license can be suspended or even revoked if the board of nursing decides that I violated the laws (Nursing Practice Act, 2021).
This creates an additional incentive for me always to act professionally and to continually seek to improve my practice in order to be an excellent nurse and avoid any disciplinary measures. Thus, the California Nursing Act is an important factor in my nursing practice, and my obligation is to be familiar with all of its provisions to deliver quality services to patients.
As it was stated earlier, hospitals which implement solid frameworks of policies and procedures seek to ensure better services for their patients and establish clear recommendations for the staff. These policies will significantly affect my practice as a registered nurse and shape the way I deliver care to the clients. For example, the existence of policies concerning different types of medication in the hospital will strictly regulate my ability to administer drugs to clients. The measures such as the obligation to check paperwork for medicine or systems controlling dose distribution will ensure that I conduct safe medical procedures (Gasior, 2019).
Moreover, policies and procedures employed by a hospital can help the staff avoid violating various laws. For instance, if the hospital I work for has standards in the sphere of billing and record-keeping, then by relying on them, I will be able to comply with all the federal and state regulations (Gasior, 2019). Thus, hospitals’ proper policies and procedures have a significant impact on my practice as a registered nurse by helping me provide quality services to patients and not violate laws.
Nursing professionals have to be aware of the functions of the California Nursing Practice Act and hospital policies and understand how they affect their practice. The key purposes of the NPA are establishing the local board of nursing and mandating the requirements for individuals who want to become licensed nurses. The primary function of hospital policies is to maintain awareness among the staff and clients about the current standards concerning their health and safety.
The NPA has a significant impact on my status as a registered nurse, for example, it stipulates that I have to renew my license every two years and continuously improve my expertise. Moreover, it states that I can be subject to disciplinary measures, which motivates me always to strive to provide excellent services. Hospitals’ policies also can affect my practice, for instance, proper rules related to medications can ensure that I correctly perform medical procedures. While clear rules and recommendations concerning billing and record-keeping guarantee that I will not violate any laws.
References
Gasior, M. (2019). Importance of policies and procedures for hospitals. Power DMS. Web.
Jackson, J. A. (2017). Ethics, legal issues and professionalism in surgical technology. Cengage Learning.
Nursing Practice Act, Cal Bus & Prof Code § 2700 (2021). Web.
Russell, K. A. (2017). Nurse practice acts guide and govern. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 8(3), 18–25. Web.