Reflecting on AHPRA Registered Nurse Standards of Practice

This article reflects on two AHPRA Registered Nurse Standards of Practice, standard 1 (thinks critically and analyses nursing practice) and standard 3 (maintains the capability for practice), and their relevance and importance in nursing practice. The author provides personal experiences from undergraduate nursing clinical practice and discusses the role of registered nurses in maintaining safe and effective nursing practice.

Running head: NURSING STANDARDS 1
Nursing Standards
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

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Reflect on two of the AHPRA Registered Nurse Standards of Practice and provide a
structured response describing the relevance and importance of the standards reflecting on
experiences from your undergraduate nursing clinical practice experiences and your
imminent role registered nurse.
The two discussed registered nurse standard is standard 1(thinks critically and analyses
nursing practice) and standard 3 (maintains the capability for practice). Practice in a clinical
nursing setting encompasses the engagement of registered nurses in thinking and performing
(Terry, Stirling, Bull & Fassett, 2017). Registered nurses make decisions regarding the client's
issues, formulate the decisions into diagnosis and regard nursing interventions on what to do
when to do and how to perform them. All this is achievable if they utilize various thinking
strategies together with the ideal obtainable authentication in the formation of resolutions along
with delivering standard along with safe nursing practice within an evidence-based framework
and client-centered (Martyn, Terwijn, Kek & Huijser, 2014). Furthermore, the standard helps in
developing practice via knowledge, feelings, encounters, beliefs, and actions to identify the
manner in which they shape the practice.
In that case, registered nurses participate constructively in procedures of performance
review to optimize continence nursing expertise and address learning. Also, they establish and
execute processes for critical self-reflection and for acquiring interdisciplinary, client and peer
response on all aspects of continence nursing practice (Martyn, Terwijn, Kek & Huijser, 2014).
Standard 1 is relevant since as an undergraduate registered nurse am aware that the NMBA
registered standard nurse regards all encounters and cultures which incorporate responding to the
responsibilities of community together with family which ground the well-being of people along
individuals of other religions (Lavin, Harper & Barr, 2015). Registered nurses provide culturally

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appropriate continence care that shows understanding and respect to the beliefs, preferences, and
culture of people concerning the evaluation and medication of their problems.
Furthermore, through the standard nurses preserve comprehensive, timely and accurate
documentation of decision making, actions, assessment and planning (Lavin, Harper & Barr,
2015). They promote the correct and understandable exchange of information amidst
multidisciplinary healthcare staff members regarding every aspect of an individual’s continence
care plan. Also, they access, analyze and utilize the best available proof that incorporates
research findings for quality and safety in practice. They achieve this by using research appraisal
skills to evaluate and critique research literature and apply this understanding to advance nursing
practice (Melnyk, Gallagher‐Ford, Long & Fineout‐Overholt, 2014). Also, they display
knowledge of international and national trends in disease research and understanding.
It is important to note that this standard is relevant in the sense that registered nurses also
comply with directives, strategies, specifications, legislation and other prerequisites vital to the
setting of practice when creating resolutions. In this case, they play a role in mentoring other
health practitioners in the application of appropriate guidelines, regulations, and standards with a
focus on continence-related problems (Melnyk, Gallagher‐Ford, Long & Fineout‐Overholt,
2014). Moreover, they critically assess guidelines and policies that affect the management,
evaluation, promotion, and care of continence.
As a student nurse, I had a client who had been scheduled to get a pacemaker placed at
0900, and the physician wanted the client to have two blood units before the procedure, and I
administered it as per the protocol. Around thirty minutes after the second unit commenced I
discovered that her oxygen dropped from 94 percent to 91 percent and then to 89 percent. I put

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2L of oxygen to her, and it rose to 90 percent, but it was hanging around 90s on oxygen. I
stopped and began to wonder what the problem was and checked at her history and found out
that she had a clinical history of congestive heart failure. I also examined her intake and output
and found it was positive 1.5L.
I began to think how generally she had extra fluid and due to her congestive heart failure,
she could not pump the fluid she already had let alone the additional liquid. I listened to her
lungs which were earlier clear and heard crackles throughout the lungs. I thought of what action
to do next to get rid of the extra fluid and make her pee and I thought of Lasix. I consulted with a
colleague and agreed to my thought and then decided to call the doctor. Before I could suggest
anything to the doctor, he told me he would put in the order so that I can administer to her 20 mg
IV Lasix one time. After delivering the Lasix, she peed and was off for oxygen and went to get
her pacemaker.
In standard 3, registered nurses are accountable and responsible for making sure that they
are safe and have the ability for practice (Grace & DRN, 2017). To maintain the capability for
nursing practice involves self-management together with retaliating whenever there arise issues
concerning other health practitioner’s capacity for practice. Furthermore, registered nurses are
responsible for their professional advancement and also strive in development contribution to the
development of other professionals. Registered nurses provide education along with information
to individuals so that they can make decisions and take actions for their well-being (Grace &
DRN, 2017). In this case, they evaluate and promote health literacy to improve people’s

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knowledge of their well-being along with developing and using resources from relevant sources
to support positive, informed attitudes on health (Dawson-Rose et al., 2016).
This standard is essential since it utilizes a lifelong technique for continuing professional
establishment of self and other professionals. Registered nurses recognize learning requirements
via critical reflection and work towards inscribing shortage in self-restraint nursing
understanding and expertise (Potter, Perry, Stockert & Hall, 2016). They retain a record of
continuing professional inauguration operations targeting to have a focus on continence nursing
practice. Furthermore, registered nurses show dedication to expanding and keeping expertise and
understanding in the continence nursing specialty through active participation in continuing
professional development operations (Potter, Perry, Stockert & Hall, 2016). Through this
standard registered nurses take answerability for etiquette, decisions, deeds, and tasks intrinsic in
their contribution and for the efforts of others to whom they have entrusted duties. In response to
this, they handle continence nursing practice according to professional anticipations and the
nursing or midwifery codes of ethics (Potter, Perry, Stockert & Hall, 2016).
Soliciting and retaliating to practice review and response is the role of registered nurses.
They seek a response from patients and acquaintances associated with the continence practice
quality (Hewitt, Chreim & Forster, 2017). Also, they absorb reaction and establish attainable
professional objectives to continually advance continence nursing understanding, expertise along
with practice quality. Also, registered nurses identify personal and acquaintance’s needs for
questioning and promoting to preserve fitness to practice to meet the needs of people (Hewitt,
Chreim & Forster, 2017).

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As a student nurse, having many patients, I first made sure I took care of my health to be
a competent healthcare provider. I provide health literacy to my patients on how to avoid follow-
up visits for chronic diseases. In one instance, I was handling a client who had coronary artery
disease, and I taught him the risk factor modification to minimize the peril of the disease. I took
every opportunity to educate and encourage the patient with his family members to increase
aerobic exercise and practice healthy eating habits.

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References
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