Registered nurses’ knowledge, attitude, practice and regulation regarding their scope of practice: A literature review

Abstract

Over the years, extensive task shifting and sharing has taken place in nursing. In several countries, especially Botswana and other African countries, nurses are often responsible for duties and interventions they consider to be beyond their Scope of Practice (SoP) or regard as ‘non-nursing’ tasks. Issues and concerns affecting SoP may have considerable impact on the quality of care and welfare of nurses. The aim of this article is to present the results of a literature review regarding the Scope of Practice of Registered Nurses. Method: A literature search was performed, using the following internet databases EbscoHost, Nursing@Ovid and Google Scholar. ResearchGate, Science Direct, Sage and Sabinet were also consulted, as well as websites of professional organizations and the Botswana Collection at the University of Botswana Library. Articles published in English between 2000 and 2018 were reviewed. Key search concepts included: scope of practice of nurses and knowledge, attitude, practice and regulation. Findings and discussion: Knowledge of nurses regarding their SoP appears variable and attitudes are usually positive, as long as scope expansion is congruent with legislation. Literature illustrates that nurses regularly practise outside their scope, either beyond or below, whereas SoP may overlap, both intra-disciplinary as well as interdisciplinary. Although the SoP of nurses appears to be regulated in many countries, regulation often appears insufficient to meet the evolving nature of the nursing profession. Conclusion: In the current changing worldwide health arena, scoping issues remain relevant and warrant imminent attention. Keywords: Scope of practice of nurses, Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, Regulation