Texas Administrative Code › Title 22 - EXAMINING BOARDS › Part 11 - TEXAS BOARD OF NURSING › Chapter 217 - LICENSURE, PEER ASSISTANCE, AND PRACTICE › Section 217.11 - Standards of Nursing Practice

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
The Texas Board of Nursing is responsible for regulating the
				  practice of nursing within the State of Texas for Vocational Nurses, Registered
				  Nurses, and Registered Nurses with advanced practice authorization. The
				  standards of practice establish a minimum acceptable level of nursing practice
				  in any setting for each level of nursing licensure or advanced practice
				  authorization. Failure to meet these standards may result in action against the
				  nurse's license even if no actual patient injury resulted.
(1) Standards Applicable to All Nurses. All
				vocational nurses, registered nurses and registered nurses with advanced
				practice authorization shall:
(A) Know and
				conform to the Texas Nursing Practice Act and the board's rules and regulations
				as well as all federal, state, or local laws, rules or regulations affecting
				the nurse's current area of nursing practice;
(B) Implement measures to promote a safe
				environment for clients and others;
(C) Know the rationale for and the effects of
				medications and treatments and shall correctly administer the same;
(D) Accurately and completely report and
				document:
(i) the client's status including
				signs and symptoms;
(ii) nursing
				care rendered;
(iii) physician,
				dentist or podiatrist orders;
(iv)
				administration of medications and treatments;
(v) client response(s); and
(vi) contacts with other health care team
				members concerning significant events regarding client's status;
(E) Respect the client's right to
				privacy by protecting confidential information unless required or allowed by
				law to disclose the information;
(F) Promote and participate in education and
				counseling to a client(s) and, where applicable, the family/significant
				other(s) based on health needs;
(G)
				Obtain instruction and supervision as necessary when implementing nursing
				procedures or practices;
(H) Make a
				reasonable effort to obtain orientation/training for competency when
				encountering new equipment and technology or unfamiliar care
				situations;
(I) Notify the
				appropriate supervisor when leaving a nursing assignment;
(J) Know, recognize, and maintain
				professional boundaries of the nurse-client relationship;
(K) Comply with mandatory reporting
				requirements of Texas Occupations Code Chapter 301 (Nursing Practice Act),
				Subchapter I, which include reporting a nurse:
(i) who violates the Nursing Practice Act or
				a board rule and contributed to the death or serious injury of a
				patient;
(ii) whose conduct causes
				a person to suspect that the nurse's practice is impaired by chemical
				dependency or drug or alcohol abuse;
(iii) whose actions constitute abuse,
				exploitation, fraud, or a violation of professional boundaries; or
(iv) whose actions indicate that the nurse
				lacks knowledge, skill, judgment, or conscientiousness to such an extent that
				the nurse's continued practice of nursing could reasonably be expected to pose
				a risk of harm to a patient or another person, regardless of whether the
				conduct consists of a single incident or a pattern of behavior.
(v) except for minor incidents (Texas
				Occupations Code §§
											301.401(2),
				301.419, 22 TAC §
											217.16),
				peer review (Texas Occupations Code §§
											301.403,
				303.007,
				22 TAC §
											217.19),
				or peer assistance if no practice violation (Texas Occupations Code §
											301.410)
				as stated in the Nursing Practice Act and Board rules (22 TAC Chapter
				217).
(L) Provide,
				without discrimination, nursing services regardless of the age, disability,
				economic status, gender, national origin, race, religion, health problems, or
				sexual orientation of the client served;
(M) Institute appropriate nursing
				interventions that might be required to stabilize a client's condition and/or
				prevent complications;
(N) Clarify
				any order or treatment regimen that the nurse has reason to believe is
				inaccurate, non-efficacious or contraindicated by consulting with the
				appropriate licensed practitioner and notifying the ordering practitioner when
				the nurse makes the decision not to administer the medication or
				treatment;
(O) Implement measures
				to prevent exposure to infectious pathogens and communicable
				conditions;
(P) Collaborate with
				the client, members of the health care team and, when appropriate, the client's
				significant other(s) in the interest of the client's health care;
(Q) Consult with, utilize, and make referrals
				to appropriate community agencies and health care resources to provide
				continuity of care;
(R) Be
				responsible for one's own continuing competence in nursing practice and
				individual professional growth;
(S)
				Make assignments to others that take into consideration client safety and that
				are commensurate with the educational preparation, experience, knowledge, and
				physical and emotional ability of the person to whom the assignments are
				made;
(T) Accept only those nursing
				assignments that take into consideration client safety and that are
				commensurate with the nurse's educational preparation, experience, knowledge,
				and physical and emotional ability;
(U) Supervise nursing care provided by others
				for whom the nurse is professionally responsible; and
(V) Ensure the verification of current Texas
				licensure or other Compact State licensure privilege and credentials of
				personnel for whom the nurse is administratively responsible, when acting in
				the role of nurse administrator.