Scope of Practice within Nursing Scope of Practice

Running head: Nursing 1
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Scope of Practice within nursing
Scope of Practice is defined as a variety of duties, tasks, and activities which certified nurses are
trained and mandated to undertake. Nursing practice is aimed at helping patients to achieve and
sustain the best health so as to have an improved quality of life. Nursing practice is achieved
through the optimization of nursing knowledge through the use of critical thinking, judgement
and skill (Lubbe, & Roets, 2014). It is founded on the principles of medicine, nursing and public
health sciences. It can also be achieved by implementing a holistic approach to care and
addressing all the dimensions of the client’s needs (Australian Nursing and Midwifery
Federation, 2014).
The scope of practice for registered nurses (RN) in Australia is aimed at helping patients to
obtain optimal health and quality healthcare services. The RN can only accomplish these tasks
by being responsible for health promotion and protection, health sustenance and restoration, and
rehabilitation. The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (2017) outlines seven broad
standards that explore the scope of practice for registered nurse in Australia. The first standard of
the RN scope of practice requires that they be critical thinkers by utilizing multiple thinking
strategies and any reliable evidence to make decisions and ensure safety and quality of healthcare
practice. The second guideline is that a registered nurse is involved in therapeutic and expert
associations which included collegial generosity based on mutual trust and respect in an expert
association. The third standard is that an RN maintains the capability for practice by being
accountable and ensuring safety. They also carry out detailed assessments which include data
analysis and reporting. The fifth standard is the design of a plan for nursing practice which is a
role of organizing and communication of nursing practice. The provision of safe, appropriate and
responsive quality nursing practice is the sixth standard for RN in Australia. This involves giving
directions regarding evidence-based quality and ethical actions. The seventh standard of RG
scope of practice is the assessment of results to inform nursing practice.
I would like to become a certified addiction registered nurse (CARN) after the completion of my
undergraduate. An addiction registered nurse specializes in the deterrence, treatment and
management of addictive illnesses. The most common roles of an addictions nurse include good
communication skills, empathy, and excellent stress management. My motivation for becoming a
certified addiction registered nurse is attributed to my interest to care for drug addicts and my

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experience during my previous clinical placement. I trust that as an addictions nurse, I will have
the opportunity to not only interact with drug addicts but also care for them and try to save lives.
My clinical placement was at a local healthcare centre in Queensland, Australia. During my
clinical placement, I observed that a very high number of young people were being admitted due
to drug addiction and violence-related cases associated with drug abuse. However, the number of
addiction nurses were few and could more often be overburdened. I was then requested to assist
the addiction nurse who was on duty. It is during this time that my interest and passion for
becoming a certified addiction registered nurse began. I would like to specialize in addiction
nursing to help alleviate the suffering that most of the youth undergo
My observations of a high number of cases involving drug addiction in Australia can be
confirmed by current research that indicates that the level of drug addiction among the Australian
youths is on the rise. According to the survey by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
(AIHW) (2019), alcohol consumption among the young people was at high levels with tobacco
smoking had reduced except for Indigenous young people. 42% of young adults aged between 18
and 24 years consumed alcohol above the minimum recommended standards for each event in
2016. Moreover, these youths smoked approximately 68 cigarettes per week. The age of
initiation for tobacco use was at 14-24 years.
Such a trend in drug and substance abuse among young people increases the burden of disease
and affects mental health (Whiteford, Ferrari, Degenhardt, Feigin, & Vos, 2015). I have decided
to become an additions nurse to try and help reduce and control the level of drug addictions in
Australia. I believe that if this trend is not managed as soon as possible then the future of
Australian young people is not guaranteed. Several intervention strategies have been
recommended to help control drug addiction among young people (Degenhardt, Stockings,
Patton, Hall, & Lynskey, 2016). Most of these recommendations fit in with the roles of an
addiction registered nurse. One of the major roles of a CARN is to ensure effective and quality
healthcare services. I will, therefore, come up with an effective treatment for young people
addicted to drugs. This would involve screening and in-depth evaluation to gain insight into the
possible predisposing factors for drug abuse such as family background (Fuller et al., 2016).
Another aspect will involve family involvement because studies have shown that the
involvement of loved ones in the treatment of drug addiction among teenagers is important in