Role and Professional Obligations Essay Discussion Paper

For this assignment, you will conduct research on the current scope of practice for your specialty (nursing informatics) and efforts that are being made to expand that scope and the role of the advanced nurse in positively influencing the health care system. Write a 1,250-1,500-word paper that includes the following:
1. A discussion of the scope of your future role as an advanced registered nurse, including any regulatory, certification, or accreditation agencies that define that scope.
2. A discussion of three professional nursing organizations that you think are most influential in advancing the scope and influence of advanced nursing. Of these organizations, evaluate the one that you would most like to join. How do its goals and mission fit in with your worldview and philosophy of care? How might membership in this organization improve your practice?
3. A discussion of a controversial or evolving issue that is most likely to affect your scope of practice or role in the next few years. How do you think this issue could influence the profession and other stakeholders, and why does it matters to the advanced registered nurse?
You are required to cite five to 10 sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria and nursing content.

Future Scope, Role and Professional Obligations

Section 1.

My interest is in gaining qualifications as an advanced registered nurse (ARN). This will give me the capacity to practice as a nurse educator. I have always had an interest in being an educator and developing the next crop of nurses to provide high quality nursing care. In my role as a nurse educator, I will engage aspiring nurses who are yet to begin practicing as well as practicing nurses who seek to improve their knowledge, skills and competency levels. I will engage with them in an education process that will see me impart nursing concepts and skills. Being an ARN enables me to be a nurse educator since this is a specialty role for ARNs, allowing them to not only fulfil the traditional role of providing primary care to patients, but also prepare individuals to practice as professional nurses (Hunt, 2015).  Role and Professional Obligations Essay Discussion Paper

My scope of practice as a nurse educator will be determined by three factors. The first factor is the regulatory requirements that ARN must meet before being allowed to become nurse educators. Like any other professional responsibility, nurse educators are subjected to regulatory requirements to ensure that they are competent enough to educate professional nurses. Nurse education is subject to regulatory requirements determined and policed by professional bodies. These professional bodies determine if an ARN is qualified enough to act as a nurse educator at a certain level and what content can be delivered as part of the education process. They indicate if the nurse educator is qualified to prepare nurse students at the identified level of education. The regulatory requirements are typically divided into certification and accreditation needs with a focus on meeting the conditions set by the relevant authority as an indication that the educator is qualified to practice (Hunt, 2015).

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The second factor is educational background. ARN have a high educational background that allows them to educate students at a lower education level. The higher level of education is an indication of professional knowledge and proficiency as well as familiarity with the important concepts that influence nursing practice. Completing educators course content is an advantage since it indicates familiarity with education theories and their application, and the ability to educate others (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2015).  Role and Professional Obligations Essay Discussion Paper

The third factor is work conditions to include the work environment and earnings. A favorable work environment and culture as well as high earnings are motivations for being a nurse educator. Unlike the highly volatile and stressful nursing practice environment that involves providing clinical care, the nurse education environment is less stressful for the educators. In addition, being a nurse educator attracts high earnings (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2015).

The scope of practice for an ARN in the nurse educator role is defined by two agencies. Firstly, the Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (CNEA) defines the scope of practice for nurse educators by offering professional accreditation services. CNEA derives its accreditation authority from the National League for Nursing (NLN). CNEA has the primary responsibility of accrediting nurse educators and ensuring that the education they provide focuses on the core values of excellence, caring, diversity and integrity (National League of Nursing, 2020). Secondly, the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) certifies nurse educators. It derives its certification authority from the National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA). NCCA has the primary responsibility of certifying nurse educators based on the most current practice standards that are regularly updated and policed (National League of Nursing, 2020).

Section 2.

The NLN, American Association for Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and Organization for Associate Degree Nursing (OADN) are the most influential organizations in advancing the scope and influence of advanced nursing.

The NLN is a nurses’ organization that draws its members from among nurses. Its primary focus is on ensuring that nursing excellence is maintained at high levels and not compromised. Its main activity is to facilitate the professional development of ARN by managing testing services, offering research grants and providing teaching resources to be enjoyed by its members. In addition, it determines the credentialing requirements for ARN to practice as nurse educators (National League of Nursing, 2020).

The AACN is a national agency that focuses on improving the quality of nurse academics. The organization promotes ARN practice, research and education. In addition, it has the primary responsibility of improving health care and the delivery of nursing care by establishing the quality standards that must be observed in the delivery of nursing education. Also, the organization works closely with institutions providing nursing education to implement the quality standards (American Association for Colleges of Nursing, 2020).

The OADN is a national agency that focuses on representing ARNs and advocating for their interests. The organization draws its membership from among ARNs, particularly nurses with associate degree nursing qualifications. Its activities are primarily focused on promoting an idealized future for ARNs while strengthening their professional roles and enhancing the quality of their education. Also, the organization presents a platform for unifying ARNs by disseminating information and supporting networking opportunities through partnering other agencies and organizations with similar interests (Organization for Associate Degree Nursing, 2020).

Of the three organizations that have been identified (NLN, AACN and OADN), the most important organization would be NLN. Formed in 1893, it is oldest nurses’ organization in the USA. It has 37,000 nurses as members as well as 1,200 institutions affiliated with nurses, thereby making it an influential organization as it has a large membership. In fact, it draws its membership from across the world. The organization’s primary mission is on promoting the excellence of nursing education. It has achieved to achieve this mission through building a strong and diverse nurse workforce that has the capacity to advance agenda at the local, state, federal, regional and global levels. The NLN differs from the AACN and OADN as it draws its membership from across the world. The other two organizations only their membership from within the USA. Global membership enables the organization to capitalize on diversity that is managed as a resource (National League of Nursing, 2020).

As a member of the NLN, an ARN should expect to significant exposure to nurse diversity through facilitated contact with nurses and organizations from around the world. Also, members of NLN have access to testing and assessment services, development programs, networking opportunities and research grants that facilitate professional development and growth. With its long history that approaches 130 years, the NLN has always prided itself in remaining current through revising its operations and objectives, and continuously renewing its mission and mandate to reflect global changes. Through these measures, the organization has continued to improve, enhance and expand the provision of professional nursing services (National League of Nursing, 2020).

Membership in the NLN is aligned with my worldview and philosophy of care. The organization is characterized by continued evolution to remain relevant in the current health care environment. I perceive nursing as an evolving profession that is always improving, same as the NLN. As such, I am always looking to improve myself as an individual and as a nurse by acquiring new knowledge and experiencing new things. As a member of NLN, I will have access to a large global network of nurses and organizations that will allow me to experience professional growth as a nurse. Besides that, the NLN offers its members education and research opportunities that I can capitalize on to improve my professional qualifications and capabilities. In this respect, NLN presents many resources that help nurses improve their professional practice, knowledge, skills and competencies.

Section 3.

A controversial and evolving issue that is most likely to continue affecting ARN is the administrative state policies requiring them to collaborate with physicians in providing medical care. These policies restrict ARN from performing to the full scope of their capabilities as determined by their education and practice backgrounds. Through these regulatory approaches, these policies act as barriers in preventing ARN from practicing to the full extent of their training and education (Black, 2016). This is a concern when the issue of nurse shortage is considered, especially in in the rural and primary care settings. Expanding the scope of practice for ARN and allowing them to practice independently with the capacity to initiate and manage medication, evaluate patients, conduct diagnoses, and order and interpret diagnostic tests would improve health care access and reduce health care costs. Full practice authority for ARN can improve improve quality of care, health care access and utilisation, and provider supply (Grinspun & Bajnok, 2018; Joel, 2018).

References

American Association for Colleges of Nursing (2020). About AACN. https://www.aacnnursing.org/About-AACN

Black, B. (2016). Professional nursing: concepts & challenges. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Grinspun, D. & Bajnok, I. (2018). Transforming nursing through knowledge: best practices for guideline development, implementation science, and evaluation. Sigma Theta Tau International.

Hunt, D. (2015). The nurse professional: leveraging your education for transition into practice. Springer Publishing Company, LLC.

Joel, L. (2018). Advanced practice nursing: essentials for role development (4^th ed.). F. A. Davis Company.

National League of Nursing (2020). About. http://www.nln.org/about

Organization for Associate Degree Nursing (2020). About OADN. https://www.oadn.org/about-us/about-oadn

Stanhope, M. & Lancaster, J. (2014). Public health nursing: population-centered health care in the community (8^th ed.). Elsevier/Mosby.  Role and Professional Obligations Essay Discussion Paper