European Nursing Act

The Nursing act encompasses all the professional action , ie the autonomous, interdisciplinary, partnership-based and collaborative person centred care of individuals, families, groups and communities across the life span; sick or well and in all primary, secondary and tertiary care environments. The Nursing act involves the use of clinical judgement in the holistic and evidence based assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of professional nursing care. Nursing includes health promotion, health education and disease prevention, the care of sick, the injured, the disabled and the terminally ill. Advocacy, promoting patient safety, quality care, continuous quality improvement, the conduct and utilization of research and evidence based practice, contributing to health policy and health systems management and delivery are also key nursing roles. The nursing act is underpinned by national and international ethical values and codes which respect dignity, autonomy, justice, fidelity, beneficence and the uniqueness of human beings.