NMBA Standards and Nursing Practice

This assignment analyzes the influence of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) standards on nursing practice in Australia. It emphasizes how these standards guide ethical nursing care and ensure high-quality patient outcomes by outlining legal and regulatory frameworks. The document delves into specific examples of NMBA standards applied to various aspects of nursing, particularly in aged care settings.

Running head: Aged care
Name of the student
University name
Author’s note

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Table of Contents
Introduction............................................................................................................................2
Body:......................................................................................................................................2
Education and training required to move from novice to expert in aged care nursing..............2
NMBA standards of nursing related to aged care nursing.........................................................4
Conclusion..............................................................................................................................5
References..............................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
The current assignment focuses on the concept of aged care nursing. It is a
multispecialty area where individual patient needs or requirements vary. Therefore, the
nurses involved in aged care need to develop requisite skills for catering to the patient
requirements. This involves developing knowledge regarding the evidence based methods
and practices. Additionally, the nursing care policies and regulations are also important in
provision of effective care to the patients. In this respect, the education and training of the
nursing staff governs the success of the care plans and intervention methods. Additionally,
application of the speciality nursing competencies and skills may help in empowering the
patients by means of implementing a patient centred approach.
Body:
Education and training required to move from novice to expert in aged care nursing
The education and training of the nurses during the transitory phase from novice to
expert can be explained with the help of a simple theory. The theory was proposed by Dr.
Benner which emphasizes that skills and understanding of a nurse develops over time through
sound education and a multitude of experiences. She further suggested that the development
of the skills is dependent upon an extension of practical knowledge.
The transitions from novice to expert consist of 5 stages as follows – novice, advanced
beginner, competent, proficient, expert. In the novice stage one is totally dependent upon the
mentor for getting specific set of instructions which would be simply followed by the
preceptored nurse. As commented by Phelan & McCormack (2016), the behaviour of an
individual is limited and flexible at this stage. On the contrary, at an advanced beginner stage
an individual has prior experience in handling similar situations. In competent stage a nurse

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has already developed 2-3 years of expertise within the same area of nursing care and can
handle emergency situations. At this stage the nursing staffs are able to plan their own actions
based on abstract and analytical thinking. In the proficient stage a holistic understanding is
established to facilitate decision making. As commented by Willetts et al. (2017), at the
expert stage a nurse develops intuitive grasp of clinical situations.
The training and education needs vary in each stage of nursing care from novice to expert
care. In this stage certain features of the task which are the very basic of nursing care are
taught to the students such as measuring weight of the patients, temperature and blood
pressure monitoring. As commented by Surr et al. (2017), at the novice stage one is unable to
use judgement or discretionary powers. In the advanced beginner stage a nurse is able to form
effective relationship with the patients and give detailed instructions based on recurrent
meaningful patterns learnt in the clinical trial sessions (Lewis et al., 2015). As mentioned by
Cashin et al. (2017), the use of therapeutic communication approaches for understanding the
needs and requirements of the patients is emphasized at the advance beginner’s stage. In the
competent stage, the nurse has developed sufficient ideas to manage clinical risks based on
analytical skills. At the competent stage of clinical practice the nurses are made to undergo
clinical simulation games to develop their decision making skills which will them in
coordinating complex multiple patient needs and demands (Houser, 2016).
In the competent stage, the nurse should be consciously made aware of the long term
goals and should be able to differentiate between the emergency and later concerns. As
mentioned by Willetts et al. (2017), emphasizing upon evidence based practices can help in
providing effective care to the patients. For example in dealing aged patients suffering from
rheumatoid arthritis, the nurses should be trained upon the implementation and inculcation of
light stretches and exercises within the daily care routine of the patients. Maxims are used to
guide the nurses at proficient stage and consists of standard code of conduct which is applied

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within particular scenarios. The proficient performers are taught with the help of case studies,
which helps them in developing the required intuitions for analysing a similar clinical
situation (Chenoweth et al., 2014). At the expert stage a nurse has developed sufficient
clinical judgement and ability. As argued by Cashin et al. (2015), the expert nursing code of
practice is holistic in nature rather than procedural. The expert nurses are supposed to show
increased control, understanding in dealing with the grievances of the patient.
NMBA standards of nursing related to aged care nursing
The Aged care is one of the complex areas of nursing care which requires sufficient skills
along with formal education. As commented by Huang et al. (2014), the aged care nurses are
required to develop leadership and management skills. The comprehensive aged care
underlines ethical and professional understanding of clinical practise which results in
improved patient outcome (Willetts et al., 2017).
In this respect, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) has stated a
number of professional codes of conducts. A few of them have been discussed over here
with respect to aged care. The first objective states that the nurses should practice in a safe
and competent manner ("Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia - Endorsement as a nurse
practitioner", 2018). Under this the nurses should not undertake practices which may
compromise the safety of the patients, such as while designing the care plans for the aged
patient affected with diabetes neuropathy and restricted movement, the nurse should not
suggest strenuous exercises to them which may result in serious injuries ("Nursing and
Midwifery Board of Australia - Endorsement as a nurse practitioner", 2018). The second
objective states that the nurses should act in accordance with the standards of their profession
and broader health system (Meißner & Schnepp, 2014). Under this the nurses can intervene to
safeguard the basic good will and interest of the aged people under care. This is particularly

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true with regards to the patients suffering from dementia, as their reasoning and decision
making skills are affected. As per the objective number 4, the nurse should respect the basic
dignity, culture, ethnicity, values of the patient. This is particularly true in case of respecting
the autonomy and self sufficiency in the patients. A patient with Alzheimer’s may have
restricted decision making skills. This could lead to the development of clinical disputes
where the practising nurse limits the freedom and autonomy of the patients owing to their
safety concerns. This may be a breach of the Mental health capacity act, 2005, as per which
the patient should be given sufficient freedom to participate in care planning and decision
making.
Conclusion
Education and training of the nurse forms an important component of patient care. In the
present scenario the aspects of aged care have been highlighted as well as the development of
a nurse from novice to expert have been highlighted. There are various aspects of education
and training provision in nursing care based upon practical experiences, case studies as well
as maxims. An individual enters into nursing practice with little or no knowledge and is
mostly dependent upon instructions from seniors regarding practice methods or procedures to
be applied. However, there is a gradual shifting from novice to expert based upon the
application of NMBA standards of nursing. This forms the core of nursing practices enlisting
the various regulations of patient care. The implication of the NMBA standards also helps in
maintaining the core ethics of nursing care.

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References
Cashin, A., Buckley, T., Donoghue, J., Heartfield, M., Bryce, J., Cox, D., ... & Dunn, S. V.
(2015). Development of the nurse practitioner standards for practice Australia. Policy,
Politics, & Nursing Practice, 16(1-2), 27-37.
Cashin, A., Heartfield, M., Bryce, J., Devey, L., Buckley, T., Cox, D., ... & Fisher, M. (2017).
Standards for practice for registered nurses in Australia. Collegian, 24(3), 255-266.
Chenoweth, L., Merlyn, T., Jeon, Y. H., Tait, F., & Duffield, C. (2014). Attracting and
retaining qualified nurses in aged and dementia care: Outcomes from an Australian
study. Journal of Nursing Management, 22(2), 234-247.
Houser, J. (2016). Nursing research: Reading, using and creating evidence.
Massachusetts :Jones & Bartlett Learning, 256-354.
Huang, H. C., Huang, Y. T., Lin, K. C., & Kuo, Y. F. (2014). Risk factors associated with
physical restraints in residential aged care facilities: a community‐based
epidemiological survey in Taiwan. Journal of advanced nursing, 70(1), 130-143.
Lewis, A., Wallace, J., Deutsch, A., & King, P. (2015). Improving the oral health of frail and
functionally dependent elderly. Australian dental journal, 60(S1), 95-105.
Meißner, A., & Schnepp, W. (2014). Staff experiences within the implementation of
computer-based nursing records in residential aged care facilities: a systematic review
and synthesis of qualitative research. BMC medical informatics and decision
making, 14(1), 54.

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Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia - Endorsement as a nurse practitioner. (2018).
Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au. Retrieved 13 January 2018, from
http://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Registration-Standards/Endorsement-as-a-
nurse-practitioner.aspx
Phelan, A., & McCormack, B. (2016). Exploring nursing expertise in residential care for
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Surr, C. A., Gates, C., Irving, D., Oyebode, J., Smith, S. J., Parveen, S., ... & Dennison, A.
(2017). Effective dementia education and training for the health and social care
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Willetts, G., Aberdeen, S., Hood, K., & Cross, W. (2017). The dynamic role of the graduate
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