Chapter 9

Professional Accountability:

Credentialing and Accreditation

Professional Accountability

• Responsibility that one assumes for their practice

• Obligation to report or account for their actions – To the profession, public, and themselves

Regulation of Nursing

• National, state, and local agencies– Guide regulation to protect the public’s health, safety, and welfare

• Examples of each

Hallmarks of a Profession• University education• Distinct service or practice and discipline

• Research-based body of knowledge• Autonomy (self-governance) and accountability

• Code of ethics• Association membership

Accountability• Begins with preconditions

– Ability– Responsibility– Authority– Ends in accountability

• Alliance for Nursing Accreditation (ANA)

Accreditation and Approval in Nursing

Education• History• Purposes• National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC)

• Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)

• American Nurses Association (ANA)

National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) • History• Purpose• Three categories of state boards

Licensure

• History• NCSBN’s role• National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN)

• APRNs

Mutual RecognitionModel of Nurse Licensure • Goal• Nurse Licensure Compact • Impact on each state’s Nurse Practice Act

Advantages of Compact

• Nurses practice in multiple states without needing multiple licenses

• Collaboration between interstate boards of nursing may increase public safety

• Improved access to nursing care in rural settings

Trends in Mandatory Continuing Education

(MCE) • State specific• Specialty specific• Setting specific• Link between MCE and professional competence

Certification and Credentialing

• American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)

• Specialty organizations• Advance practice

Healthcare Accreditation• Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)– History– Purpose– Goals

• Magnet Status