La. Admin. Code tit. 46 § XLVII-3703
Accountability- being answerable for one's actions or inactions. The registered nurse answers to self, patient, agency, profession and society for the effectiveness and quality of nursing care rendered. It is the personal responsibility of each nurse to maintain competency in practice. If the assigned nurse does not possess the specialized nursing knowledge, skills and abilities required to provide the required care, said nurse shall notify the appropriate supervisory nursing personnel.
Additional Acts- activities beyond those taught in basic nursing education programs. Additional acts are authorized by the board through rules and regulations or declaratory statements interpreting the legal definition of nursing. Registered nurses are accountable for attaining and maintaining competency when performing approved additional acts.
Assessing Health Status- gathering information relative to physiologic, behavioral, sociologic, spiritual and environmental impairments and strengths of an individual by means of the nursing history, physical examination, and observation, in accordance with the board's Legal Standards of Nursing Practice.
Assignment-designating nursing activities to be performed by an individual consistent with his/her licensed scope of practice.
Care Supportive to or Restorative of Life and Well-Being- activities designed to resolve, diminish, or prevent the needs that are inferred from the individual's problem; includes the planning, implementation and evaluation of said activities in accordance with the board's legal standards of nursing practice.
Case Finding- identifying human responses which indicate existing or potential unwellness.
Collaborating- a process involving two or more health care professional working together, though not necessarily in each other's presence, each contributing one's respective area of expertise to provide more comprehensive care than one alone can offer.
Delegating Nursing Interventions- entrusting the performance of selected nursing tasks by the registered nurse to other competent nursing personnel in selected situations. The registered nurse retains the accountability for the total nursing care of the individual. The registered nurse is responsible for and accountable to each consumer of nursing care for the quality of nursing care he or she receives, regardless of whether the care is provided solely by the registered nurse or by the registered nurse in conjunction with other licensed or unlicensed assistive personnel.
Evaluating Human Responses to Interventions-measuring the effectiveness of the nursing actions in achievement of established goals.
Executing Health Care Regimes as Prescribed by a Licensed Physician, Dentist or Authorized Prescriber-carrying out the medical orders of a physician, dentist or other authorized prescriber licensed in Louisiana.
Goals to Meet Identified Health Care Needs- statements which facilitate the patient's achievement of expected outcomes of care.
Health Counseling-those nursing measures that assist an individual in analyzing his/her health status, formulating health goals and planning activities to reach these goals.
Health Instruction- those nursing measures that provide health information and explanation.
Maintaining Nursing Care Rendered Directly or Indirectly- preserving the continuity of safe and effective nursing care, including the delegated nursing activities.
Managing and Supervising the Practice of Nursing- those activities which serve to fulfill the accountability of the registered nurse for the total nursing care of the individual when tasks in the nursing care are delegated to other nursing personnel. These activities include:
Medical Diagnosis- the conclusion reached in identification of the patient's disease, especially the art of distinguishing among several possibilities with the intent of prescribing relevant treatment. Ordinarily, the pronouncement of death requires a medical diagnosis. However, in a non-acute care setting, when an anticipated death has apparently occurred, registered nurses may cause to have the decedent removed to the designated funeral home in accordance with a standing order of a medical director/consultant setting forth basic written criteria for a reasonable determination of death.
Medical Prescriptions- medical interventions. These include all medications and medical treatments of therapeutic or corrective nature.
Planning Nursing Care Measures- documenting all activities, to be performed by the registered nurse or delegated by the nurse to other nursing personnel, which facilitate achievement of expected patient care outcomes.
R.N. Applicant-a person who has completed the educational requirements and whose application to take the required examination for licensure as a registered nurse has been accepted by the board.
Specialized Knowledge and Skills- required for the practice of nursing means the current theory and practice taught in basic nursing education programs preparing persons for R.N. licensure as well as information in the biological, physical and behavioral sciences.
Student Nurse- a person who is engaged in learning experiences in a program of study leading to candidacy for licensure to practice as a registered nurse. The term applies only when the person is participating in an integral part of the program of study, and not when that person is engaged in an employment situation.
Teaching the Theory and Practice of Nursing-instructing basic or advanced nursing students and providing continuing nursing education to registered nurses.
Unlicensed Assistive Personnel- an unlicensed individual who is trained to function in an assistive role to the licensed nurse in the provision of patient activities as delegated by the nurse.
La. Admin. Code tit. 46, § XLVII-3703