The Scope and Standards of Practice for Professional Ambulatory Care Nursing explicitly identifies and defines ambulatory care nursing practice in outpatient settings.
The 10th edition contains some significant revisions from previous versions. In addition to the revised scope of practice, this publication contains 17 standards. The first six standards address the phases of the nursing process; the last 11 standards address professional performance. The depth and breadth to which ambulatory care RNs engage in the total scope of professional ambulatory care nursing practice is dependent upon their education, experience, role, practice setting, and the populations served.
Each standard contains three sections:
- A statement of the standard addressed.
- Measurement criteria that may be used for demonstrating competency for meeting the standard.
- Additional standard statements and measurement criteria for nurse executives, administrators, and managers.
These changes offer clarification and specificity for the distinct domains of clinical and administrative nursing practice in ambulatory care settings.