You have been asked to investigate a new procedure that physicians would like nurses to adopt in the hospital. Discuss the process you would apply to determine whether the procedure falls within the RN scope of practice and how you would go about introducing the new procedure with physicians and fellow nurses
First, I would inform my direct supervisor about the request from the physician to implement a new procedure. If the request is approved by the nursing supervisor, I would further investigate the procedure in which the physician wants the nurses to adopt in the hospital, as it is imperative to determine whether the procedure is within the nursing scope of practice before deciding to adopt or implement it. I would do this by referring to my state board of nursing decision making flow chart. | 1. Is the function commonly recognized as nursing practice? NO YES ⇒ S.P. not required ⇓ | 2. Is it the standard of practice in the community that RNs perform this function in the clinical area for which it is being considered? NO YES ⇒ S.P. not required ⇓ | 3. Does the function require the nurse to: Diagnose disease, Prescribe medicine or treatment, or Penetrate or sever tissue? NO YES ⇒ S.P. required ⇓ | 4. Does safe performance of the function require judgment based on medical knowledge beyond that usually possessed by the competent RN in the area for which it is being considered? NO YES ⇒ S.P. required ⇓ S.P. not required |
If the procedure falls into the nursing scope of practice, I would then look into the current policies and procedures of my employer for further guidance in developing a protocol for this new procedure. Once I have developed this, I would present it to my nursing supervisor and our risk management department for approval. If approved, I then would setup an in-service to introduce the new procedure to the