Nursing practice acts contain general
statements of appropriate professional nursing actions. They
define nursing, set standards for the nursing
profession and give guidance regarding scope of practice
issues. As such, the state nursing practice act is the single most
important piece of legislation affecting nursing practice.The
nurse must incorporate the nursing practice act with his or her
educational background, previous work experience, institutional
policies and technological advancements. The main purpose of nurse
practice act is to protect the public from unsafe practitioners with the ultimate goal
being competent, quality nursing care provided by
qualified practitioners.
The Nurse Practice Acts also protect
the nurse. Nurses have an ethical
and legal responsibility to maintain the currency of their practice
in today’s changing health care system and to be familiar with the
nursing practice act.
Listed below are links to the Nurse
Practice Acts that were available online through the
various State Board of Nursing websites. Most links go directly to
the Nurse Practice Act of each website, while others simply go to their respective Board of
Nursing homepages. If you find a bad link let us know.
Protect
Yourself - Know Your Nurse Practice Act
for a summary of the
Nurse Practice Act guidelines but for more
detailed information check out the State
Board of Nursing links below.