American Nurses Association: Nursing Performance Standards - Professional Guidelines

Published by the American Nurses Association, the Standards of Professional Performance details a competent level of professional behavior in nursing practice. The document stands as an objective guideline against which nurses can measure their performance.

Purpose

• The Standards provides a method to assure patients that they receive high-quality health care. Nurses know exactly what nursing care must be provided and have a method to evaluate their own service.

Content

• The Standards provides guidelines for the quality of practice, the nurse's education and professional development, collaboration and collegiality, as well as ethics, research and leadership.

Accountability

• The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics states that each nurse must be accountable for his individual nursing practice. They each have a responsibility to meet the performance standards and each nurse is evaluated in a performance review. In addition, they are accountable to their peers, the health care community and the nursing regulatory organization for the quality of their nursing practice.