Reflective Essay on Registered Nurses' Scope of Practice

This essay explores the scope of nursing practice within the Australian healthcare system. It begins by defining the concept of 'scope of practice' in nursing and then discusses the responsibilities and roles of registered nurses in meeting current healthcare demands. The essay highlights challenges such as unclear practice boundaries and barriers to practice. The author reflects on their personal interest in oncology nursing, drawing on clinical placement experiences in an acute care ward. The essay emphasizes the importance of nurses in transforming the healthcare system and supporting the aging population and addresses the influence of technological advancements and rising patient expectations. The author uses research evidence to support their thoughts and facts. The essay concludes by emphasizing the potential of oncology nursing to improve healthcare outcomes and reduce the burden of diseases within the Australian healthcare system. The essay references various academic sources to support the discussion.

Running Head: Scope of Nursing Practice 1
Scope of Nursing Practice
Name
Professor
Course
Date

Scope of Nursing Practice 2
Scope of practice in nursing
Regulatory documents define the nursing scope of practice as the full variety of tasks, roles, and
responsibilities that nurses are instructed, competent, and certified to work. In more literature, it
is portrayed in connections to factors that focus on working environments or organization
characteristics in the place where nurses work (Kelly, Berragan , Eikeland , & Orr, 2016). Also,
there are standards for nursing practice which specify activities in the scope of nursing practice
and manage the services offered. The measures include qualifications, care process, surrounding,
documentation, cooperative responsibilities, quality surety, client support, investigation, and
supporting functions. Nurses provide primary health care services to families, clients,
individuals, and communities (Xue, Ye, Brewer, & Spetz, 2016). Generally, nurse’s care is
described by an emphasis in health enhancement and disease prevention and control of regular
acute illnesses and persistent chronic diseases. In the delivery of these services, nurse
practitioners may order, perform, and translate significant diagnostic and laboratory
examinations and prescribe treatments, pharmacologic agents, and nonpharmacologic therapies.
Also, counseling and educating clients and their families concerning healthy lifestyle behaviors
are significant components of nursing practitioner care.
Specific practitioners with a chosen area of clinical focus may add distinctive activities to their
scope of practice which suggests the demands of the served target population. Some practitioners
in nursing prefer to pursue additional education and experience to be in a position to perform
improved clinical processes to enlarge the nursing scope of practice further. While the
responsibility of nurse practitioner was first envisaged for practice centered in the underserved
rural community, nurse practitioners have operated in a greater variety of settings. Traditionally,
most nursing practitioners practiced in either hospital-based or community ambulatory care.

Scope of Nursing Practice 3
Currently, new responsibilities are expanding chances for nursing practitioners to practice in
such acute locations as hospital inpatient specialty departments and emergency units as the
nursing scope of practice. However, there are three critical barriers to practice: the failure to have
prescriptive authority, third-party reimbursement, and hospital admission rights (Halcomb,
Stephens, Bryce, Foley, & Ashley, 2016).
Registered nurses' scope of practice in terms of the current Australian health care demands
In Australia, a practitioner nurse is an advanced practice nurse who has been certified by the
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA). Advanced nursing practice shows a level
of training instead of a role and is described by a noticeably higher level of nursing, concerning
professional knowledge, clinical thinking, and judgment, behaviors, and skills (Scanlon, Cashin,
Bryce, Kelly, & Buckely, 2016). Equally, with other roles of nurses, nurse practitioners can
focus on a particular area of care (for example elderly care) or work with a wider scope (for
example, health of the population or generalist fundamental nursing care).
In Australia, NMBA has guidelines and standards which determine the extent of practice for
nurses. Some of the general nurse practitioners standards include establishing and treating a
broad range of health conditions, projecting and applying therapeutic regimens, instigate
referrals to other health practitioners, instructing and interpreting radiology and pathology tests,
and prescribe or deprescribe medications among others. Through the provision of new services,
following community demands and disparities in health care services, nurse practitioners tackle
the health needs of the population and promote health results for the community (Birks, Davis,
Smithson, & Cant , 2015). In Australia, the nursing profession constitutes the most substantial
regulated personnel. However, sits margins health personnel remain unclear. Nursing in the

Scope of Nursing Practice 4
Australian scope of practice has expanded rapidly in the last decade to respond to government
plans to improve primary health care. Despite some barriers being addressed earlier, there are
current barriers that affect the nursing scope practice role development. Therefore, identifying
and addressing these barriers is crucial to elevate the effectiveness of the health primary care
nursing personnel. The ambiguity encircling the scope of practice for nurses restricts the nurse's
capability to take action to Australia's present and evolving health system obstacles (Heartfield,
et al., 2017). Therefore, for Australian registered nursing personnel remains to be an influential
and essential provider to Australia’s changing healthcare setting, a distinctly pronounced scope
of nurse practice is crucial and urgent.
Reflection on the area of place and area of clinical interest
Nursing is one of the most all-around occupations in the health care professions. Nurses have
the chance to perform a crucial task in changing the health care system to bring about a more
available, high-value, and value-determined surrounding for patients. In all settings, patients
need care that is directed on their particular needs and not what is most accessible for the health
practitioners involved in their care. A changed health care system is required to attain this
objective. Transforming the health care system will sequentially require a central rethinking of
the functions of several health professionals, comprising nurses (McGilton, et al., 2016).
Therefore, I would like to specialize in oncology department after completion of the nursing
degree. I developed a significant interest in the oncology unit after an experience in the acute
care ward during my placement. In the critical care unit, I was in a position to contextualize the
skills picked up and gain expertise. I understood that working in the acute care department is
one of the extremely demanding responsibilities in the nursing scope of practice. The role of

Scope of Nursing Practice 5
critical care nurse is to evaluate and monitor the patient's conditions, recognize vital signs,
arrange diagnostic tests, and also to work in the oncology unit (A.Coombs, 2015). Therefore, I
believe that as far as the scope of nursing practice is crucial, I think working in the oncology
department will transform the Australian health care system. Consequently, it will reduce the
burden of diseases and meet increasing consumer expectations.

Scope of Nursing Practice 6
References
A.Coombs, L. (2015). The Growing Nurse Practitioner Workforce in Specialty Care. The
Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 907-909.
Birks, M., Davis, J., Smithson, J., & Cant , R. (2015). Registered nurse scope of practice in
Australia: an integrative review of the literature. Journal of Contemporary Nurse, 522-
543.
Halcomb, E., Stephens, M., Bryce, J., Foley, E., & Ashley, C. (2016). Nursing competency
standards in primary health care: an integrative review. Journal of Clinical Nursing,
1193-1205.
Heartfield, M., Bryce, J., Devey, L., Buckley, T., Cox, D., Kerdo, E., et al. (2017). Standards for
practice for registered nurses in Australia. The Australian Journal of Nursing
Practice,Scholarship &Research, 255-266.
Kelly, M. A., Berragan , E., Eikeland , S., & Orr, F. (2016). Simulation in Nursing Education—
International Perspectives and Contemporary Scope of Practic. Journal of Nursing
Scholarship, 312-321.
McGilton, K. S., Bowers, B. J., Heath, H., Shannon, K., Dellefield, M. E., Prentice, D., et al.
(2016). Recommendations From the International Consortium on Professional Nursing
Practice in Long-Term Care Homes. Journal of the American Medical Directors
Association, 99-103.
Scanlon, A., Cashin, A., Bryce, J., Kelly, J. G., & Buckely, T. (2016). The complexities of
defining nurse practitioner scope of practice in the Australian context. The Australian

Scope of Nursing Practice 7
Journal of Nursing Practice, Scholarship Research, 129-142.
Xue, Y., Ye, Z., Brewer, C., & Spetz, J. (2016). Impact of state nurse practitioner scope-of-
practice regulation on health care delivery: Systematic review. Journal or Nursing
Outlook, 71-85.