Accountability of Nursing Professionals When Implementing Evidence Based Practice

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Accountability means:” being accountable for one’s own action”. The American Nursing Association (ANA) states in its code that the nurse will assume accountability for individual nursing judgments and actions. Professional nurses are accountable in several areas including accountability to the public, client, profession, employer, and self (Hood, 2010, p. 307). All professional nurses have the responsibility to work within their scope of practice to provide the best possible care to patients. Nurses’ should have a thorough knowledge about their accountability in specific areas of practice. The level of responsibility and accountability depends on professional levels. A nursing supervisor has more responsibility than a charge- nurse. A registered nurse (RN) is less responsible than a charge nurse because a charge nurse is capable of managing the whole unit and also works as a resource person for the nurses in his/her unit. Licensed Practice Nurse’s (LPN) job functions are monitored and supervised by RN, therefore RN’s responsibilities and accountabilities are higher than a LPN.

A professional nurse is accountable for the following when implementing changes in evidence based practice:

To the profession: Professional accountability allows nurses to work in a frame work of practice and to follow principles of conduct that maintains the patient’s trust in the individual nurse. These will in-turn support the nursing profession as a whole (Caulfield, 2005, p. 4). Nurses are responsible and accountable for their own actions and also for the colleagues. For example, when nurses from step down unit floats to intensive care unit charge nurses are responsible to delegate assignments to them. Charge nurses are then accountable for the outcom...

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...line Summary. Retrieved on January 22, 2011, from http://www.guideline.gov/content.aspx?id=13395&search=accountability+of+nursing+professionals

Berlandi, J. L. (2002, June). Ethics in perioperative practice: accountability and responsibility. AORN Journal/Find Articles at BNET. Retrieved on January 21, 2011 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FSL/is_6_75/ai_88575988/?tag=content;col1

Caulfield, H. (2005). Vital Notes for Nurses: Accountability. Retrieved on January 21, 2011 from http://books.google.com/books?id=ZjhRLQrRM1cC&pg=PA4&dq=professional+accountability+in+nurses&hl=en&ei=_RM5TcyLCouusAOWydD8Ag&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=professional%20accountability%20in%20nurses&f=false

Hood, L. J. (2010). Leddy and Pepper’s Conceptual Bases of Professional Nursing (7th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

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