Clinical Nurse Specialist Scope of Practice and Data Privacy as an APRN Issue

Advanced registered nursing graduates are entering the profession at dynamic time when roles and scope of practice are shifting based on developments in legislation and policy in response to the evolving needs of the health care system. Professional nursing organizations play an important role in making sure the perspectives of advanced registered nurses are heard, and in supporting nurse specialties in their efforts to expand their scope of practice and their full participation throughout the health care system.

For this assignment, you will conduct research on the current scope of practice for your specialty and efforts that are being made to expand that scope and the role of the advanced registered nurse in positively influencing the health care system. Write a 1,250-1,500-word paper that includes the following:

1. A discussion of the scope of your future role as an advanced registered nurse, including any regulatory, certification, or accreditation agencies that define that scope.

1. A discussion of three professional nursing organizations that you think are most influential in advancing the scope and influence of advanced nursing. Of these organizations, evaluate the one that you would most like to join. How do its goals and mission fit in with your worldview and philosophy of care? How might membership in this organization improve your practice?

1. A discussion of a controversial or evolving issue that is most likely to affect your scope of practice or role in the next few years. How do you think this issue could influence the profession and other stakeholders and why does it matter to the advanced registered nurse?

Introduction

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN) are the primary care providers who are usually at the forefront of providing preventive and treatment care services to the general public. APRNs advise the general public on health issues, diagnose and treat illnesses, engage in continuous education to remain updated in technologies in healthcare and manage chronic disease. In addition to the initial nursing education, APRNs must have a Master's degree. My future role as APRN would be that of the clinical nurse specialist. This paper will discuss my future role as a clinical nurse specialist, influential professional nursing organizations in advanced nursing, and controversial issues that are likely to affect my scope of practice.

The Scope of Future Role as an Advanced Registered Nurse

In my role as a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), I will be in charge of diagnosing, prescribing, and treating specialty populations and patients across the continuum of care. CNS improves patient outcomes by being leaders in Evidence-Based Practice, providing direct patient care, advancing nursing practice, and optimizing the organizational systems. CNS has been a crucial part of the healthcare industry in the United States for more than six decades. It has become more acceptable as it has yielded low-cost, safe, and effective evidence-based care services (Chan & Holly, 2021). CNS influences the delivery of care services by providing support and expertise that is required to take care of patients while they are at their bedside, introducing new practice changes in the organization, and ensuring that evidence-based care is incorporated into patient care to achieve optimum patient outcomes.

The regulatory body for the CNS is the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS) which is devoted to advancing the unique values and expertise of CNS to enhance their ability to provide patient-centered, evidence-based, and high-quality care. Up to now, the organization has more than 2,000 members and it is a representative body of more than 89,000 CNNS working in colleges and universities, ambulatory settings and clinics, and healthcare systems and hospitals (NACNS, 2024). For one to become a CNS, one must have earned an MSN from an accredited program and pass a certification exam in an area of specialization such as neonatal, pediatrics, or gerontology. The additional certifications that the employer may require a CNS to acquire can be issued by accreditation agencies such as the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) certification corporation. ANCC provides nurses an opportunity to advance their careers and provide the best patient care. AACN Certification Corporation provides certification for clinical nurse specialist programs such as ACCNS pediatric, ACCNS neonatal, and ACCNS adult gerontology (NACNS, 2024).

Three Influential Professional Nursing Organizations

The three professional nursing organizations that will be influential in my scope of practice are the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), the American Nurse Association (ANA), and the American Board of Nursing Specialties (ABNS). AANP comprises more than 121,000 members who collaborate to improve patient care and advance the nursing practitioner practice (AANP, 2024). The organization aims to empower nurses to advance the quality of healthcare through advocacy, education, leadership, and research. This organization provides benefits to the members such as an opportunity for networking and continuing education. The American Nurses Association (ANA) is a leading organization that represents more than 4 million registered nurses. ANA, founded in 1896 now has members in all 50 States in the United States and it is at the forefront in improving the quality of care delivered (ANA, n.d.). The organization advances the nursing profession by advocating on the healthcare issues affecting nurses, promoting an ethical and safe environment, and enhancing the health and wellness of nurses. ANA represents the interests of the nurses and it ensures they reach their full potential by lobbying for resources that enable nurses to advance their profession. ABNS focuses on improving patient outcomes and protecting consumers by promoting their specialty. The organization represents more than 930,000 certified registered nurses and it connects the nurses with nursing credentialing organizations and leads discussions on specific issues faced by certified nurses and the ones who are seeking the certification (ABSN, n.d.).

Most Appealing Professional Organization

The professional organization that I am more likely to join is ABNS as its mission to promote the importance of specialization among all stakeholders fits in my overall goal of advancing my knowledge and skills. ABSN is grounded on the core values of integrity, quality, consumer protection, excellence, and mutual respect. The organization adheres to integrity by enhancing transparency and commitment in the decision-making process. Consumer protection in the organization is witnessed as it always advocates for the promotion of optimal health outcomes. ABSN is committed to the provision of evidence-based and high-quality care, mutual respect is achieved by embracing the beliefs of other people and excellence is fostered through encouraging the delivery of beneficial care (ABSN, n.d.). Membership in this organization will improve my practice as I will be able to network with other nurses.

Controversial or Evolving Issue Most Likely to Impact Scope of Practice or Role

The evolving issues that are likely to affect my role as a CNS in the next years are data security and privacy issues. There has been an increase in information technology use in healthcare such as Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and other digital technologies and this increases the risk of unauthorized access to patient education and data breaches. 2021 was characterized by huge data breaches with 45.9 million data breaches and this number increased to 51.9 million in 2022. In 2023, a new record was achieved as 133 million records were stolen or disclosed. The largest breach of data in 2023 affected more than 11,270,000 people (The HIPAA Journal, 2024). The issue of data security and privacy can influence other healthcare providers and stakeholders by eroding trust between patients and healthcare providers. This can discourage patients from sharing important information with healthcare providers. Data security issues can lead to financial and legal consequences when health organizations and healthcare providers face lawsuits due to the offense. When data breaches occur, healthcare providers and healthcare organizations may be forced to temporarily disrupt operations leading to delays in care delivery.

For advanced practice registered nurses, the issue is crucial as it shapes their role of patient advocacy, ethical obligation, and professional development. APRNs have the responsibility of advocating for the patients and this includes protecting their confidentiality and privacy and this may be affected by data breaches. Nurses have the ethical obligation to ensure that patient information is well stored, not shared with unauthorized parties, and used appropriately (Grace, 2022). On the other hand, the data privacy issues pave the way for nurses' professional development on competencies in nursing informatics. There are various strategies that can be utilized to mitigate data privacy and confidentiality issues. Data privacy issues can be solved by regularly training the nurses on the data privacy issues and how to solve them, formulating policies that prevent data breaches, and investing in infrastructure and technologies that protect patients' data.

Conclusion

The APRN role that I would like to undertake in the future is that of CNS. A CNS engages in the duties of diagnosing and treating diseases and they make up for the shortage of physicians. The regulatory body for the CNS is the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS) and the credentialing bodies for the nurses are the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) Certification Corporation. The professional nursing organizations that I perceive to be more influential are the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), the American Nurse Association (ANA), and the American Board of Nursing Specialties (ABNS). The organization that I would like to join is ABNS. One of the controversial issues that will impact my role as an APRN is that of data security and privacy as the healthcare technologies used have been subject to data breaches.

References

AANP. (2024). A vibrant, nationwide NP community. American Association of Nurse Practitioners. https://www.aanp.org/

ABSN. (n.d.). About Us. American Board of Nursing Specialties. https://www.nursingcertification.org/About-ABNS

ANA. (n.d.). About ANA. https://www.nursingworld.org/ana/about-ana/

Chan, G. K., & Holly, V. W. (2021). Global view of the clinical nurse specialist role. In Clinical Nurse Specialist Role and Practice (pp. 3-15). Springer, Cham. <https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-97103-2_1?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=sn&utm_content=RM&utm_term=null&utm_campaign=MEDR_SDGCC_CON1_GL_PMLS_SDG03_IND22-Nurs>

Grace, P. J. (2022). Nursing ethics and professional responsibility in advanced practice. Jones & Bartlett Learning. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=3ep5EAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=advocacy+roles+of+advanced+practice+registered+nurses+&ots=6dzI9vDupY&sig=B2P_7-PZCzCPol2C4D_WSohsQoE

NACNS. (2024). Professional certifications. National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists. https://nacns.org/career-education/professional-certifications/

The HIPAA Journal. (2024). Healthcare Data Breach Statistics. HIPAA. https://www.hipaajournal.com/healthcare-data-breach-statistics/#:~:text=2021%20was%20a%20bad%20year,stolen%2C%20or%20otherwise%20impermissibly%20disclosed