Regulation for Nursing Practice Staff
Nursing is a highly regulated profession, governed by over 100 Boards of Nursing (BONs) and various national nursing associations across the U.S. BONs regulate nursing practice, ensuring that nurses meet specific standards and maintain public safety through licensure and disciplinary actions. In contrast, nursing associations focus on professional development, advocacy, and education for nurses. For advanced nursing professionals, it is crucial to understand the differences between these entities and their impacts on nursing practice. This understanding helps professionals navigate regulations, maintain standards, and contribute to the advancement of the nursing profession.
Differences Between BON and Nursing Associations
The Board of Nursing, or BON, is a state government body that provides crucial functions of the nursing profession. BONs are state entities and are held with the responsibility for the regulation of nurses and the management of licensure of practicing nurses who should meet the stipulated education and practice requirements. The overall purpose of BONs is to serve the aim and interest of the public by regulating, promulgating, and enforcing nursing practice and any violations thereof. BONs are also involved in the discipline of nurses and students who do not meet the provisions of the laws or fail to adhere to professional guidelines. These actions mean that to be licensed, nurses must practice competently and ethically regardless of the time they spend through their careers (Boehning & Haddad, 2023).
On the other hand, professional nurse associations are non-government institutions that are mainly directed toward enhancing nurses’ careers and the progression of nursing as a career choice. These organizations work for appropriate legislation for the development of the nursing profession, disseminate knowledge, and collaborate with nurses to network. They are more concerned with nursing chiefly as an agency to champion the cause of nurses, ensure professional input in legislative proceedings, and offer a forum for professional identity and affiliation (Chiu et al., 2021). They are different from BONs – their explicit aim and purpose is to provide support, advocacy, and promotion to nurses across many aspects of their work.
Virginia Board of Nursing Composition
Who Is on the Board?
The Virginia Board of Nursing is comprised of members who are Registered Nurses (RNs), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), and members of the public. The public members also provide a balanced view of the board since most of them are not nurses, thereby bringing in an outside perspective. The Governor appoints all members, and the function is to supervise and control nursing practices in the state. This composition helps to involve the public and the nursing profession in decision-making. This way, the board is composed of representatives of professionals and the public, as well as the interests of both patients and nurses, and the quality of the nursing profession and public health safety are guaranteed (Milstead, 2019).
How to Become a Member
The Governor appoints all members of the Virginia Board of Nursing. These processes help ensure that only qualified individuals with the right experience and certification in nursing are employed. The board sets standards in relation to the professional qualification of its members in cognizance of sound nursing practices. This is important since board members can influence the practice of nursing, and nursing care should remain secure and sensitively appropriate.
Another value is diversification, as the board focuses on covering approaches and positions in nursing across the spectrum. This has a great implication of bridging all the gaps in nursing care delivery from the RN to LPNs and even the public. Further, the board upholds legal and professional policy in regard to nursing to maintain the safety of the public.
Nurse Scope of Practice in Virginia
Nurse Practice Act of Virginia defines rules of practice for RNs and LPNs in the state of Virginia. It also establishes the legal scope of practice for nurses, indicating everything that a nurse is allowed to do and what is not allowed. The act preserves patient care standards to guarantee that nurses offer proper and secure treatment. It also prescribes how the nurses approach the prescription of the medication, and it also calls for interdisciplinary cooperation to improve the effects on patients. It also protects the patients as it lets them know the standard practices expected of the nurses and the limits to which they are supposed to practice.
Impact of Regulation on Nurses
Policies ensure that the nurses know their obligations and restricted activities with a clear line between what they are allowed to do and what they are not allowed to do. These guidelines also ensure accountability, implying that the nurses must practice within certain standards. It not only enhances patient safety outcomes but also safeguards nurses since their precise legal responsibilities are enumerated and minimizes possible medical mistakes. Rules also aim to create competency and ethical codes, making it possible to maintain a high level of the nurse’s profession. Notably, regulations aim at duty description to offer protection to the patients as well as the nurses, improving the healthcare environment (Ernstmeyer & Christman, 2022).
Healthcare Delivery, Cost, and Access
Regulations help standardize how care is delivered, ensuring consistency in nursing practices across various healthcare settings. This not only enhances patients’ safety and the quality of their treatment but also saves much in terms of resources and efficient elimination of errors. Another advantage is effective resource use, as regulations act like a stimulus supporting the efficient use of employees and supplies. Also, most of these regulations increase healthcare accessibility, for example, in poor or rural regions through enhancing standard and reliable nursing services. Finally, regulations reduce the cost and increase the efficiency of healthcare delivery and patient and provider outcomes.
Cultural Considerations in Nursing Practice
Rules and policies help nurses to be culturally sensitive while delivering care, which is very important, especially when caring for patients from different cultural backgrounds. Cultural competence deals with how patients from diverse cultural contexts are treated to satisfy their needs. Nurses strive to eliminate inequities and prejudice in health care in order to give every patient a fair opportunity for care. Also, the concept of culture enhances the way nurses and their patients interact, most importantly because people feel more comfortable when they are understood. Licensing restrictions also give nurses the freedom to provide culturally sensitive education and support that patients require to manage their conditions more effectively and increase general health care quality.
Nurse Practitioner Act: APRN Regulation in Virginia
The Nurse Practitioner Act in Virginia regulates APRNs as independent practice states. This regulation particularly allowed APRNs to prescribe medications, which is a broadened role. This authority permits APRNs to work independently without the proximity to a medical doctor as was usual, especially in rural and hard-to-staff communities.
Influence on the Nurse’s Role
The regulation enhances the independence of APRNs and their ability to make more clinical decisions as well as oversee more patients than before. It places APRNs strategically as quintessential generalist practitioners within healthcare systems that a few physicians serve.
Influence on Delivery, Cost, and Access to Healthcare
The regulation helps solve the healthcare access problem by reducing the physicians’ density and providing healthcare services for almost-served-population areas. It also lowers healthcare costs due to the increased utilization of APRNs in managing major patient care, hence taking the congested load from health facilities and enhancing the quality of patients.
Recent Changes to APRN Regulation
In the past five years, there have been significant changes to APRN regulations in Virginia. These include expanding APRNs’ prescriptive authority, which allows them to prescribe medications without physician oversight. This increased autonomy has made APRNs more independent in their practice, especially in rural and underserved areas where physicians are less accessible. All these changes have, in some way, improved the delivery of healthcare in the areas of outreach and provision, patient improvement, and reduction in overall expenditure. The permission to practice independently has made the work of APRNs lighter, thus enhancing the delivery of health care services.
References
Boehning, A. P., & Haddad, L. M. (2023, July 17). Nursing practice act. PubMed; StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559012/
Chiu, P., Cummings, G. G., Thorne, S., & Makaroff, K. S. (2021). Policy Advocacy and Nursing organizations: a Scoping Review. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 22(4), 276–296. https://doi.org/10.1177/15271544211050611
Ernstmeyer, K., & Christman, E. (2022). Legal implications. Www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov; Chippewa Valley Technical College. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK598383/
Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
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Question
Both boards of nursing and national nursing associations have significant impacts on the nurse practitioner profession and scope of practice. Understanding these differences helps lend credence to your expertise as a professional. In this Assignment, you will practice the application of such expertise by communicating a comparison of boards of nursing and professional nu

Regulation for Nursing Practice Staff
To Prepare:
- Assume that you are leading a staff development meeting on regulation for nursing practice at your healthcare organization or agency.
- Review the NCSBN and ANA websites to prepare for your presentation.
The Assignment: (8- to 9-slide PowerPoint presentation)
Develop a 8- to 9-slide PowerPoint Presentation that addresses the following:
- Describe the differences between a board of nursing and a professional nurse association.
- Describe the board for your specific region/area.
- Who is on the board?
- How does one become a member of the board?
- Describe at least one state regulation related to general nurse scope of practice.
- How does this regulation influence the nurse’s role?
- How does this regulation influence delivery, cost, and access to healthcare?
- If a patient is from another culture, how would this regulation impact the nurse’s care/education?
- Describe at least one state regulation related to Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs).
- How does this regulation influence the nurse’s role?
- How does this regulation influence delivery, cost, and access to healthcare?
- Has there been any change to the regulation within the past 5 years? Explain.
- Include Speaker Notes on Each Slide (except on the title page and reference page)
Textbook:
- Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.