The practice of nursing is in a constant state of motion and in an effort to create guidelines for standards of practice, a “list of competencies to help nurses better understand the expectations…these include assessment, diagnosis, planning, coordination of care, health teaching consultation, prescriptive authority, and evaluation” (Dean, 2018). The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) assists all fifty states, including Oklahoma, in developing guidelines for standards of care for its Board of Nursing (BON) (ncsbn.org). These guidelines set forth by the NCSBN encourage the state of Oklahoma to use evidence-based practice in its Nurse Practice Act (NPA) which promotes patient safety and outcomes (Huynh, 2021).
With all states using the NCABN, a sense of continuity and standardization can be felt in the profession of nursing. With developments in medicine and other interventions, it is vital in the nurse role to understand what his/her role is in regards to patient safety and outcomes. By using the standards of practice put forth by the state of Oklahoma’s BON, the safety of patients is in the forefront of the care that is provided.
In the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU), the five components of the nursing process are utilized (Dean, 2018). An example of this would be a patient who presents to the PACU after a shoulder arthroscopy. An initial assessment of the patient shows the patient to be moaning, wincing, as well as tachycardia and hypertensive; this is the first step in the nursing process. The second step would be to provide a diagnosis. What is the problem? The patient reports pain (as 8 on a scale of 0-10) as a result of surgery as seen by increased heart rate and blood pressure as well as pain score.
The third step is planning/outcomes, what can the nurse implement as far as interventions and possible pharmacologic strategies to alleviate the patient’s pain and what could the outcomes of said implementations be? The fourth step is implementation. The nurse carries out the intervention that was previously evaluated, in this case the nurse decides to dim the lights, quiet the room, and provide the patient with pain medication per orders given by provider. The last step is evaluation. Did the intervention work? Is the patient’s pain alleviated? This step often requires another assessment to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. The Standards of Practice set forth by the BON guides this nurse process in that the nurse is able to evaluate the problem, consider options for implementing interventions then evaluating the outcomes, all based on the appropriate standards of care put in place.
Dean, Julie. (2018). Practice and Competency Development. Dynamics in Nursing Art & Science of Professional Practice Ch.3. https://www.gcumedia.com/digital-resources/grand-canyon-university/2018/dynamics-in-nursing_art-and-science-of-professional-practice_1e.php
Huynh, A.P., Haddad, L.M. (July 22, 2021). Nursing Practice Act. Stat Pearls. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559012/
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