The Registered Professional Nurse at Northside Hospital independently plans and provides professional nursing care to patients in accordance with physician orders and established guidelines, and in accordance with the scope of practice as defined by the Georgia Nurse Practice Act. The American Nurses Association’s (ANA) Nursing: Scope and Standards of Nursing Practice, 3rd Edition (2015), provides a definition of nursing as: ‘Nursing is the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, facilitation of healing, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations.’ Furthermore, the scope of practice of the registered nurse and the corresponding standards and competencies are dependent on the nurse’s education, experience, role and population served (ANA, Scope and Standards of Practice, 2015, p 2.). The practice of Professional Nursing at Northside Hospital utilizes ANA’s Scope and Standards of Professional Practice and Professional Performance, incorporates two additional components of clinical practice, and classifies all elements into five domains: 1. Clinical Knowledge and Practice . Assessment, Diagnosis, Outcomes Identification, Planning, Implementation, Evaluation; Clinical Information Systems (Documentation); Patient Care Technology. 2. Professional Practice . Communication, Culturally Congruent Practice, Ethics, Professional Practice Evaluation and Resource Utilization 3. Leadership . Collaboration, Community Involvement, Environmental Health and Leadership 4. Professional Development . Education of Self and Others, Expansion of Knowledge, Advancement of Practice, Contribution to the Professional/Clinical Specialty 5. Evidence-Based Practice, Quality and Research . Evidence-based Practice, Nursing Research, Quality of Practice, Patient Satisfaction Scores, External Reporting/Benchmarks The uFlex Registered Nurse is licensed to practice professional nursing in the state of Georgia, in good standing and without limitations; has a minimum of two years (2) years full-time experience as a registered professional nurse, and has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, an Associate Degree (AD) or a Diploma in Nursing. The uFlex Registered Nurse manages care of an assigned group of patients in accordance with the philosophy and policies of the nursing division, to include the Northside Nursing Collaborative Care Model. The practice of all professional nurses at Northside Hospital reflects the values of collaboration, communication, coordination, integration, and empowerment. uFlex Registered Nurse positions for those nurses that have reached a specific level of nursing experience to possess the knowledge, skills, competencies and critical thinking abilities to work in specialty areas. The uFlex RN’s will be assigned to work in those areas where competency has been verified. The uFlex RN is required to travel and work in multiple settings, both inpatient and outpatient, within a 30 mile radius of a NSH campus at any given time.
