Registered Nurses need to possess minimum standards of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that are necessary for them to practice within their scope of practice. The way we work in the health care environment is governed by local, state and federal governments� legislative policies, codes of conduct, codes of ethics and standards from our professional bodies. To provide safe effective care to our patients and to keep ourselves safe and working within scope we need to understand and apply all of this to our practice. To assist in developing your full understanding of these standards and policies we offer a 3000 word written essay as an assessment item.
Explanation of the Assessment
In this assessment item you are required to view a video of a handover and write a 3000 word academic essay with detailed discussion critiquing and analysing four components. You will have worked with this video extensively at residential school. This video has several actors (real and simulated). The roles comprise
1 Female RN – Mature (many years experience) senior RN going off night duty (tired and slightly aggressive) usually only works day shift as team leader
2 Male EEN – Australian Citizen, qualified in other disciplines, speaks 4 languages, English is second language, new to the ward but has worked elsewhere, graduated 2 years ago
3 Female RN � New Graduate RN in her first week of practice this is her 4th shift, 2 previous shifts were with RN buddies.
4 6 patients (simulated and real)
The assessment has the standard inclusion of 15% for presentation, 20% for referencing and citations and four components worth 65% in the discussion as outlined here:
a. Define and critically discuss scope of practice and what this means in the nursing discipline (15%)
b. Clearly and succinctly explain how the scope of practice of newly graduated Australian registered nurses is different from that of 3 other Australian nursing roles, eg the student nurse, RN , EN, NUM,AIN. You will refer to situations in the handover video for your discussion (10%)
c. You will critically discuss 3 NMBA (2006) Registered Nurse Competency standards as they relate to the handover video (20%)
d. You will critically discuss 3 National Standards (ACSQHC, 2012) as they apply to the handover video. (20%)
Where to start your research
You are expected to read widely and refer to contemporary literature, Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA, 2006) statements, Australian Commission on Quality Healthcare Standards (ACQHCS, 2012) and other relevant research and legislation to support your discussion (see further suggestions at end of this information). Articles used must be relevant to Australian Nursing context and ideally should be less than 5 years old for Journal articles and less than 10 years old textbooks. Seminal works(those theories or eminent works that may have been written many years ago but still form the basis of contemporary arguments are allowed. Use of websites must be from a reliable source. The Library database is to be included.
Further suggestions for applicable areas to begin the literature search are provided below. This list should not be the only sources you research.
1. NMBA (2016) Enrolled Nurse Standards for Practice
2. Decision making framework for Registered Nurses
3. Guidelines for registration standards for nurses and other Health Care Workers (AHPRA)
4. Nursing Professional Boundaries, Code of Professional Conduct, Code of Ethical practice
5. Reporting of horizontal and lateral violence in the health workplace
6. Continuous Professional Development
7. Occupational Health and Safety responsibilities
8. Contemporary research literature on the newly graduated RN experience (Australian experiences please)