"Standards of practice set the mark for providing the highest-quality nursing care," said Norma Gomez, MBA, MSN, RN, CNN, the book's editor. "This not only helps keep patients safe, but it offers nurses a clear and definitive process of care for the kidney patient."
Nephrology nurses administer complex dialysis treatments, interpret lab results, teach patients, and coordinate life-saving transplants.
Gomez said the number of people diagnosed with kidney failure has doubled in each of the past two decades and is expected to continue at that rate. This calls for more—and more qualified—nurses, so the book includes two notable additions: criteria to measure nursing competencies and additional competencies for the advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) who specializes in nephrology.
Along with these new sections, the expanded Scope and Standards features an introduction to nephrology nursing, a formal definition of the specialty, an updated scope of practice, and standards of practice statements. The 263-page book also has a section of examples on how to use the standards and the nephrology nursing process in clinical practice.
To ensure the new Scope and Standards was as comprehensive and accurate as possible, ANNA assigned a workgroup to spearhead the project and put it out for review by ANNA's national leaders, Special Interest Groups, and members.
For additional information about nephrology nursing, kidney disease, and the Scope and Standards of Practice textbook (regular price, $70; ANNA member price, $50), visit the ANNA Web site at www.annanurse.org, call 888-600-2662, or e-mail anna@ajj.com.
