Nursing Act, 2005 (Act No. 33 of 2005)RegulationsRegulations regarding the Scope of Practice for Nurses and Midwives, 20223. Scope of practice of a general nurse |
| (1) | A general nurse takes responsibility and accountability for the following: |
| (a) | advocating for the profession and facilitating the establishment and maintenance of an environment in which health care can be provided safely and optimally; |
| (b) | providing safe and quality general nursing care in a scientific, integrated and evidence-based approach within in all health care settings; |
| (c) | reviewing-nursing practice continuously against professional standards within a relevant context; taking responsibility for the application of newly identified needs to practice; |
| (d) | practising in terms of the Code of Ethics for Nurse Practitioners; |
| (e) | facilitating the attainment of optimum health for the individual, the family, groups and the community; |
| (f) | promoting health and empowering healthcare users through health counselling and education to secure their active participation in achieving self-reliance; |
| (g) | assessing and interpreting the health information needs of individuals and groups and then planning to respond accordingly; |
| (h) | diagnosing and prioritising individual healthcare needs, based on a comprehensive analysis and interpretation of data; |
| (i) | developing an integrated nursing care plan for the promotion of activities of daily living, self-care, treatment and rehabilitation of health care users, taking; |
| (j) | cognisance of their unique physical and psychosocial, cultural and religious needs; |
| (k) | delegating nursing care, ensuring that nursing care is only delegated to competent practitioners or persons; |
| (l) | initiating and maintaining a therapeutic relationship will health care users; |
| (m) | preparing and providing supportive nursing care to a patient throughout the duration of diagnostic, surgical and therapeutic acts; |
| (n) | providing emergency care; |
| (o) | providing appropriate palliative and end of life nursing care; |
| (p) | managing nursing care of individuals, groups and communities; integrate psycho-social care in the management of individuals, groups and communities; |
| (q) | evaluating healthcare users' progress towards expected outcomes and revising nursing care plans according to their newly identified needs; |
| (u) | creating and maintaining concise, complete and accurate nursing records for individual healthcare users; |
| (r) | referring a healthcare user timeously and appropriately to other members of the multidisciplinary team; |
| (s) | facilitating continuity of care in collaboration with relevant members of the health care team; |
| (t) | providing direction for the implementation of the nursing care plan; |
| (u) | ensuring the safe implementation of nursing care, the execution of treatment and the administration of medication prescribed by an authorized registered person; |
| (v) | ensuring disaster preparedness and response, planning, preparing for, and executing a unit evacuation plan; |
| (w) | providing supervision for nursing care and execution of treatment ; |
| (x) | preventing and managing health care user's adverse events; |
| (y) | implementing relevant evidence based protocols and guidelines; and |
| (z) | managing and coordinating nursing care in a unit within the health establishment. |
| (2) | The general nurse must implement and manage a quality improvement plan for own context of practice. |
| (3) | The scope of practice of General Nurses shall include supervision and mentoring student nurses and other nursing categories . |
| (4) | A general nurse may not: |
| (a) | take responsibility and accountability for managing overall nursing care in a health establishment; and |
| (b) | set up or conduct a private practice. |