Nurse Practice Act
The purpose of the NPA is to protect the overall welfare, health, and safety of each patient/client. Also, the NPA wants to ensure that each nurse practices within their scope of practice, whether you are an advanced practice registered nurse, LPN/LVN, or RN. This might include delegating a task to another RN or other assistive personnel. Now to make sure that each nurse in the State of Georgia practices within their scope of practice you have the BON or Georgia Board of Nursing enforcing this Act. All nurse managers need to distinguish between the roles of advanced practice registered nurses, RNs, and LPN/LVNs because it is vital for the patient's safety. You do not want to put a patient's safety at risk by delegating the wrong task. The delegation of tasks goes from APRN which holds a high level of education to RN to LPN/LVN then so forth and so on. APRNs can prescribe medications to treat and diagnose illnesses and perform many different procedures on patients/clients, examples of APRNs would be certified nurse midwives and nurse practitioner. The differences between these titles is the education and the skills learned while in school.Â
Leadership & Health Disparity DB
Health disparities are preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or opportunities to achieve optimal health experienced by socially disadvantaged populations. (Health Disparities 2023) Examples of health disparities and people who are at risk include: race or ethnicity, disability, income, sexual orientation, geographic location, and access to food and education. We can help with sexual orientation health disparities because we meet and provide care for many LGBTQ individuals daily. There have been multiple instances where we have come across LGBTQ members in hospital settings. The way we can get away from this is by asking the LGBTQ person or member about things that take place in their community. Also, if there is a woman who is transitioning to become a man or has male-like features, i.e., facial hair and voice changes, or obtains muscle mass enhancements, if they are continuing to get their annual pap smears. We need to inform them that they are still at risk for developing cervical cancer or breast cancer due to they were born a female. Plus, interacting with any member of the LGBTQ community will enhance our knowledge of how they live their daily lives.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, May 26). Health disparities. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/disparities/index.htm