Extending professional practice: benefits and pitfalls

This article highlights the changing role of the nurse in the A&E department. It discusses the arguments for and against nurses taking on more medical tasks and some of the legal and professional issues this inevitably raises. Particular reference is made to the Scope of Professional Practice, Code of Professional Conduct and Exercising Accountability documents produced by the UKCC. The conclusion from the literature is that although the term 'extended role' is no longer acceptable, there are no guidelines as to how adjustments to practice are to be monitored. The documents issued by the UKCC do not say how the practitioner is to prove that he or she has undergone any kind of training in order to perform these extra tasks. As a result, it is imperative that the practitioner is aware of the professional issues involved in order to safeguard both the patient and practitioner and to ensure safe standards of practice.