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According to RNABC (2000), a standard: "is a desired and achievable level of performance against which actual performance can be compared. It provides a benchmark below which performance is unacceptable. �Standards for Nursing Practice� in British Columbia are statements about what registered nurses are required to do as nursing professionals. Taken in their entirety, the standards reflect the values of the profession and clarify what the nursing profession expects of its members" (Pub. No. 128, p. 4). The purpose of these standards is reflected by RNABC �s mission statement: �The goal of RNABC is safe and appropriate nursing practice regulated by nurses in the public interest and achieved by promoting good practice, preventing poor practice, and intervening when practice is unacceptable� (RNABC June 2000).  Standards for practice have been described as the �goal posts� between which nurses practice, and are the safety net protecting the public from incompetent or unethical nursing practice. These standards govern the clinical, research, education and administrator activities of nurses. In addition to the �standards� of practice, a nurse is subject to the �standard subsets� cultivated through mentorship, practice and experience from their own phenomenological perspective. To maintain quality patient outcomes, nursing standards require ongoing revisions to keep pace with the ever-evolving roles and responsibilities of nurses in health care today. |
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