Evaluate how the chosen topic impacts your role as an advanced practice nurse

It is essential for all healthcare professionals to adhere to the scope and practice provided by the statutes and regulatory bodies. Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) must, therefore also act according to the specified rules and regulations. Failure to adhere to the standards may result in professional discipline (Poghosyan, Boyd & Clarke, 2016).  The American with Disability Act provides that no healthcare professional including APN should discriminate patients with disabilities. Individuals with disabilities have equal opportunities as everyone else (Huang, Sun & Lien, 2015). As an APN, I have to ensure that I do not discriminate any disabled person in my profession. I must understand that I will interact with a diverse group of individuals with disabilities. Therefore, I have to implement the skills and knowledge that are relevant in addressing the health care needs of each patient. In as much as I must reflect equality in the health care system, I must not assume that the patients will have similar needs but engage the patients to diagnose the appropriate approach to ensure quality patient care.

 What are the legal implications related to your role?

Several legal issues impact APN practices. They include criminal and civil laws. In the line of duty, an APN might commit crime prohibited by the law like misappropriation of patient’s medical bills to make the disabled person pay more than other people. As an APN, I may also fail to attend to a disabled person appropriately as I should thus causing severe health implications that should have been avoided. In this case, I risk going against the civil rights that also emphasized on equal opportunity for everyone. I may not even have acquired a legal license to conduct APN practices (Huang et al., 2015). I might, therefore not prove that I am competent to handle patients especially those with disabilities as they have unique needs, therefore, require special attention

Analyze how an understanding of the chosen topic will impact your future role as an advanced practice nurse.

It is necessary that I understand how to adhere to the provisions of the American with Disability Act to avoid the possible legal implications that can compromise my career opportunities. I will ensure that I provide quality services to all patients and charge the appropriate amount for the service instead of taking advantage of the physical or mental condition of the patient (Ailey, Brown, Friese & Dugan, 2016).  I understand that patients need someone they can trust to facilitate their healing process and I must, therefore, ensure that I build that trust. Individuals with a disability also have the right to privacy of medical information. I will thus remain competency in my profession and document their health information securely and avail them to authorized persons only (Geçkil, Kaleci, Cingil & Hisar, 2017). I will have to collaborate and work closely with other medical practitioners to make a practical decision concerning the health of individuals with a disability. As I adhere to the provisions of the expectations of my practice, I will not only enhance the life of the patient but also contribute towards the goals of the healthcare facility which is to provide quality and safety patient care.

References

Ailey, S. H., Brown, P., Friese, T. R., & Dugan, S. (2016). Building a Culture of   Inclusion. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 46(1), 9-11. doi:10.1097/nna.0000000000000286

Geçkil, E., Kaleci, E., Cingil, D., & Hisar, F. (2017). The effect of disability empathy activity on the attitude of nursing students towards disabled people: A pilot study. Contemporary Nurse, 53(1), 82-93. doi:10.1080/10376178.2017.1292143

Huang, H., Sun, F., & Lien, Y. F. (2015). Nurse practitioners, medical negligence and crime: A case study. Clinical Nursing Studies,3(4). doi:10.5430/cns.v3n4p21

Poghosyan, L., Boyd, D. R., & Clarke, S. P. (2016). Optimizing full scope of practice for nurse practitioners in primary care: A proposed conceptual model. Nursing Outlook, 64(2), 146-155. doi:10.1016/j.outlook.2015.11.015