Levels of nursing practice

Levels of nursing practice

The two mainv levels of nursing practice include beginner or beginning nursing practice (also known as novice or basic nursing practice) and advanced nursing practice. The development of nursing practice has five stages: novice practice, advanced beginner practice, competent practice, proficient practice, and expert practice.

Basic nursing practice

Basic nursing practice, which was also known as primary practice, is the initial practice for which registered nurses are educationally prepared and in which they have demonstrated the achievement of beginning level competencies. Primary practice, however, is distinct from the terms primary nursing and primary care, because primary practice is a method of organizing work, while primary care is a specific field of practice.

Advanced nursing practice

According to the Queensland Nursing Council of Australia, advanced nursing practice - also known as higher level nursing practice - is characterised by greater and increasing complexity and exists beyond beginning practice on the continuum of nursing practice. The markers of advancing nursing practice are education, experience, and competence development. As practice becomes more advanced nurses demonstrate more effective integration of theory, practice, and experiences along with increasing degrees of autonomy in judgements and interventions. Furthermore, advanced nurse practitioners may take leadership roles in relation to nursing and other health care activities. Nurses who perform advanced nursing practice are called advanced practice nurses.

Regulation and licensure

The regulating body of nursing practice is the boards of nursing in a country or in individual states of a country. A model nurse practice act is developed by the nursing boards in order to describe the scope of practice for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses or vocational nurses, and advanced practice nurses. In order for a nurse to practice nursing, licensure is required. Licensure is defined as the process by which the boards of nursing grant permission to an individual to engage in nursing practice after determining that the applicant had attained the competency necessary to perform a unique scope of nursing practice.

Standards of nursing practice

There are guidelines or "benchmarks of achievements" that need to be followed for the practice of nursing. These guides or models are called the standards of nursing practice, also known as standards of care. These standards are used in measuring the degree of excellence in nursing care and in describing a competent level of nursing care.