Summary of Nurse's Social Policy Statement

Nursing's Social Policy Statement, written by the American Nurses Association, offers a brief yet through description and introduction to professional nursing as it is practiced in the United States. This document explains not only the core values of American nurses but also addresses the fundamental social responsibility that is associated with the nursing profession. The first part of this book is a social policy statement describing the nature and role of professional nursing in society and health care. Brief chapters discuss the social context of nursing, the definition of nursing, and the knowledge base for nursing practice, as well as the scope of nursing practice, the purpose of standards of professional nursing practice, and professional and legal regulation of professional nursing.
Nursing’s social policy statement (ANA 2003), defines Nursing as “The diagnosis and treatment of Human responses to health and illness.” This supports that Nurses should be actively involved in the decision making process of health care delivery system. Six essential features of professional nursing proposed in Nursing’s Social Policy Statement (2003):
• Provision of a caring relationship that facilitates health and healing,
• Attention to the full range of human experiences and responses to health and illness within the physical and social environments,
• Integration of objective data with knowledge gained from an appreciation of the patient or group’s subjective experience,
• Application of scientific knowledge to the processes of diagnosis and treatment through the use of judgment and critical thinking,
• Advancement of professional nursing knowledge through scholarly inquiry, and
• Influence on social and public policy to promote social justice (ANA, 2003, p. 5).
Also discussed are specialization in nursing, the scope of nursing practice, the regulation of nursing practice, and the knowledge base for nursing practice.
Over the years, nurses have had to