Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 46 - PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL STANDARDS › Part XLVII - Nurses: Practical Nurses and Registered Nurses › Subpart 2 - Registered Nurses › Chapter 37 - Nursing Practice › Section XLVII-3703 - Definition of Terms Applying to Nursing Practice

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. Terms applying to legal definitions of
				  nursing practice,
				  R.S. 37:913(13) and
				  (14).
Accountability
- being answerable for one's
					 actions or inactions. The registered nurse answers to self, patient, agency,
					 profession and society for the effectiveness and quality of nursing care
					 rendered. It is the personal responsibility of each nurse to maintain
					 competency in practice. If the assigned nurse does not possess the specialized
					 nursing knowledge, skills and abilities required to provide the required care,
					 said nurse shall notify the appropriate supervisory nursing personnel.
Additional Acts
- activities beyond those
					 taught in basic nursing education programs. Additional acts are authorized by
					 the board through rules and regulations or declaratory statements interpreting
					 the legal definition of nursing. Registered nurses are accountable for
					 attaining and maintaining competency when performing approved additional
					 acts.
Assessing Health Status
- gathering
					 information relative to physiologic, behavioral, sociologic, spiritual and
					 environmental impairments and strengths of an individual by means of the
					 nursing history, physical examination, and observation, in accordance with the
					 board's Legal Standards of Nursing Practice.
Assignment
-designating nursing activities
					 to be performed by an individual consistent with his/her licensed scope of
					 practice.
Care Supportive to or Restorative of Life and
					 Well-Being
- activities designed to resolve, diminish, or prevent the
					 needs that are inferred from the individual's problem; includes the planning,
					 implementation and evaluation of said activities in accordance with the board's
					 legal standards of nursing practice.
Case Finding
- identifying human responses
					 which indicate existing or potential unwellness.
Collaborating
- a process involving two or
					 more health care professional working together, though not necessarily in each
					 other's presence, each contributing one's respective area of expertise to
					 provide more comprehensive care than one alone can offer.
Delegating Nursing Interventions
-
					 entrusting the performance of selected nursing tasks by the registered nurse to
					 other competent nursing personnel in selected situations. The registered nurse
					 retains the accountability for the total nursing care of the individual. The
					 registered nurse is responsible for and accountable to each consumer of nursing
					 care for the quality of nursing care he or she receives, regardless of whether
					 the care is provided solely by the registered nurse or by the registered nurse
					 in conjunction with other licensed or unlicensed assistive personnel.
a. The registered nurse shall assess the
				  patient care situation which encompasses the stability of the clinical
				  environment and the clinical acuity of the patient, including the overall
				  complexity of the patient's health care problems. This assessment shall be
				  utilized to assist in determining which tasks may be delegated and the amount
				  of supervision which will be required.
i. Any
				  situation where tasks are delegated should meet the following criteria.
(a). The person has been adequately trained
				  for the task.
(b). The person has
				  demonstrated that the task has been learned.
(c). The person can perform the task safely
				  in the given nursing situation.
(d). The patient's status is safe for the
				  person to carry out the task.
(e).
				  Appropriate supervision is available during the task implementation.
(f). The task is in an established policy of
				  the nursing practice setting and the policy is written, recorded and available
				  to all.