Nurses across the United States have certain duties and expectations in common. However, certain laws, policies, and regulations can vary from state to state, which is why licensing is state-specific.
In Oklahoma, the law governing the field of nursing is called the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act. Whether you're a newly licensed resident or plan to move there soon, understanding this act is crucial to finding success and maintaining your license. If you have questions or are accused of violating the act, call the Lento Law Firm at 888.535.3686 or fill out this contact form and set up a consultation.
What is the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act?
Originally passed in 1909, the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act was drafted by an organization of passionate and knowledgeable professionals known as the Oklahoma State Association of Graduate Nurses. In 1991, the organization was renamed the Oklahoma Board of Nursing, and the act underwent numerous amendments.
Nowadays, the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act serves as the primary set of rules, regulations, and guidelines for nurses throughout the state. A nurse's qualifications and performance are measured against the requirements laid out in the act, and violations are addressed according to the steps it describes.
In other words, the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act uses carefully worded definitions and procedures to tell every nurse how to thrive in their profession, as well as what could happen if they fall short. It's the first and last word on nursing in the state. A review of its content can only benefit you and the patients who count on you to know what you're doing.
Authorized Acts
Nurses are crucial to handling a wide variety of tasks and responsibilities in the field of healthcare. In fact, the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act outlines the expectations and duties of the job. Knowing what actions are authorized is the first step toward becoming a great nurse.
Patient Data Analysis
Many patients meet and receive health evaluations from nurses before they ever see a doctor. A nurse's initial review of a patient's health history, lifestyle, and medical conditions can set the tone and direction for their treatments. A combination of clinical knowledge, attention to detail, and the ability to hear what patients don't say make data analysis a delicate and challenging art.
Nurses also sometimes analyze the health of entire families and communities to better understand what they need. It's a powerful influence on these patients' development both as individuals and groups, as well as how they interact with the healthcare system.
Creating, Implementing, and Tracking Healthcare Goals and Strategies
Together with doctors, nurses use the information they gather from analyzing a patient's health and listening to their needs and desires to create a plan to help them reach their goals. They will also work to put that plan into action, providing suggestions, instructions, and/or supervision to ensure their patients achieve them.
With regular checkups, nurses will adjust the plans, goals, and actions in accordance with the patient's progress or lack thereof. Many patients owe their medical self-improvement to a nurse's care and dedication.
Prescribing and Administering Medications
Since they tend to have such detailed knowledge about their patients' health status, goals, and needs, nurses are often entrusted with choosing, obtaining, and providing their medications. This responsibility extends to monitoring the way patients are affected by the medications and making adjustments accordingly.
The right medications can change and even save lives, while the wrong ones can be devastating or deadly. Nurses must never take this authorization lightly.
Supervision and Education of Other Nurses
Considering their highly specialized knowledge that is only obtainable through a combination of rigorous education and extensive experience, only nurses are qualified to supervise and teach students and other nurses with less experience or fewer qualifications. They can do this not only by guiding students and other nurses through formal courses but also by facilitating delegations and monitoring assignments.
Prohibited Acts
Just as nurses must fulfill certain expectations, they must also avoid doing or saying anything that would violate the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act. These actions can put you under investigation by the Oklahoma Board of Nursing and could lead to disciplinary action. They include the following.
Inadequate Patient Care
All patients are unique; they can have a wide range of needs and wants regarding their hygiene, comfort, and medical treatments. Nurses are supposed to meet as many of them as possible within reason.
Nevertheless, some nurses neglect their patients or fail to take crucial details into account when creating or executing their healthcare plans, compromising the patients' recovery or overall sense of well-being. The occasional mistake or bad day may be overlooked, but a pattern of such behavior could lead to an investigation and disciplinary action in accordance with the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act.
Patient Endangerment
Some actions directly put patients' lives or safety at risk. Examples include administering improper dosages of medicine, exposing patients to allergens, leaving inadequate patient documentation for other nurses, and missing or mistreating important symptoms of diseases, injuries, or adverse reactions.
Basically, patients should never leave a nurse's care in worse condition than they were upon arrival. To allow otherwise is a violation of the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act and could be grounds for sanctions.
Drug or Alcohol Abuse
Nurses are as prone as anyone else to drug and alcohol addiction. Unfortunately, this can cause them to lack the energy, mental clarity, strength, or dexterity they need to properly accomplish their tasks. Not only does it inconvenience other nurses who must take over, but it seriously compromises patient care and wellness.
Many medical workplaces offer substance abuse programs to help nurses overcome addictions. Failure to enroll or pass one may lead to long-lasting consequences, such as license suspension or revocation.
Insufficient Knowledge or Performance
Not every well-meaning individual is cut out for a nursing career. Even those who excel at first could gradually lose their drive or abilities.
Per the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act, nurses who consistently display a lack of skills and knowledge expected in their profession may find their licenses sanctioned, suspended, or revoked. The same is true of nurses whose mental, emotional, or physical issues prevent them from meeting minimum performance standards.
Lack of Professional Boundaries
Nurses should try to optimize patient care and satisfaction with warmth and friendliness. However, the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act still requires them to establish firm professional boundaries, maintaining the trust, dignity, and privacy of their patients.
For example, some patients may try to offer gifts to their nurses; the nurses should graciously refuse, lest they appear to be accepting bribes. They should also refrain from having deeply personal conversations or exchanging contact information throughout the course of their nurse/patient relationships. Otherwise, they may unconsciously favor or appear to favor certain patients over others.
Sexual Misconduct
Another violation of professional boundaries is so egregious that it's a category all its own—sexual misconduct. Nurses should never sexually harass their patients or engage with them in sexual acts of any kind.
First, it could be viewed as coercion or assault because of the patient's vulnerability, even if the actions are seemingly consensual. Also, such relations are sure to cause numerous emotional complications in nurse/patient relationships.
Committing a Crime
Some violations of the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act are also crimes, but not all of them. Also, many crimes that could impact a nurse's effectiveness or trustworthiness are not specifically listed in the act. That's why the act includes a broad category for committing crimes in general.
Basically, nurses could be subject to discipline from the board if they're found guilty of a felony or any other crime that indicates they don't have the right temperament or moral compass for the job. Harassment, fraud, and theft are just a few examples, as they suggest that a nurse might harass a patient, compromise private information, or steal supplies or medications.
Scopes of Practice
There is more than one type of medical field; by the same token, there is more than one type of nurse. The Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act covers the definitions and duties of a few in particular.
Registered Nurse
This title is given to anyone who completes the necessary licensing requirements. Their responsibilities cover those named above, with additions, exceptions, or modifications as appropriate depending on their field of specialization.
Advanced Practice Registered Nurses
Registered nurses who wish to move up in certain medical fields can take more education programs. If they pass, they'll be advanced practice registered nurses.
This distinction could help a nurse earn promotions and leadership positions. However, it can also help them land even more specialized roles in these four fields:
Midwifery
Essential to gynecology and obstetrics, midwives focus on healthcare for newborn babies and their mothers before, during, and after pregnancy. Midwives' duties range from monitoring pregnancy and providing medical consultation or referrals to assisting with labor, delivery, and breastfeeding. They also oversee mothers' physical and mental recovery after delivery.
Practitioner
A nurse practitioner has all the duties and expectations of a registered and advanced registered nurse. However, they differ in that nurse practitioners may also function as clinicians, providing diagnoses, prognoses, and similar services. Furthermore, they tend to take on more complex medical cases and actively seek ways to improve patient care in their workplaces.
Anesthesia
Known as certified registered nurse anesthesiologists, these nurses are in charge of administering controlled substances for surgeries and similar procedures, especially osteopathy, podiatry, dentistry, or general medicine. Per the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act, they must collaborate with the relevant doctors and physicians to ensure the drugs and dosages are appropriate for each situation.
Clinical
Nurses who spend many years working in the same facility or field can't help but develop some expertise in it. However, clinical nurse specialists take that a step further by studying and applying their skills to a specific discipline or niche.
For instance, some clinical nurse specialists specialize in optimizing patient care, while others become experts in healthcare system organization, leadership, education, or research. Each one requires its own certification and years of experience.
Licensed Practical Nurses
The role of a licensed practical nurse is basically to assist the registered and advanced registered nurses who supervise them. They carry out instructions for patient care, evaluate patients, and help prepare or modify customized healthcare plans and goals.
Why Contact the Lento Law Firm?
Yes, you should be familiar with the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act, but that alone won't solve any disciplinary or licensing problems that could arise. Whether due to misunderstandings, accidental errors, or genuine mistakes caused by bad choices or poor judgment, you could end up fighting to keep your nursing license.
You need lawyers who care as much about your license as you do and can match or even exceed your understanding of the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act. That's what the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team can do for you. Establish a working relationship with them before you even need them so that they'll be ready to jump into action on your behalf if or when you're accused of a violation.
Knowledge is Power for Oklahoma Nurses
The field of nursing is complex and always evolving, but for Oklahoma nurses, the Oklahoma Nursing Practice Act is a constant. If you'd like to understand it better or need assistance protecting your nursing license within the context of this law, then call the Lento Law Firm's Professional License Defense Team at 888.535.3686 or fill out a contact form to schedule a consultation.