Introduction
Within the realm of occupational regulation there are many strategies that exist. Two of the most widely used approaches include state regulation, and self-regulation. The profession of nursing has its own professional regulating bodies that perform the latter. Self-regulation is a concept that is often not fully understood. In order for self-regulation to be effective and fully reach its regulating potential, its importance to nursing must be appreciated by not only government and the public, but nurses themselves. According to Castledine, “It is up to all nurses not only to demonstrate concern for their own individual autonomy and accountability but also to join forces …show more content…
Nursing is often referred to as one of the newest of the professions. With this novelty comes vulnerability. Nursing is susceptible to be squandered as a creditable profession due to its relatively recent emergence. With its own unique body of knowledge, members of the nursing profession can show their competence and expertise through showing its ability to implement effective and efficient self-regulation. With this comes trust in the profession and its professionals. In time, the vulnerability will give way to public trust and confidence in the nurses that serve that very …show more content…
Self-regulation is the regulation of a profession by its own members instead of an outside regulating body such as a government or state-appointed organization. Self-regulation in professional nursing is the key to safe, competent, knowledge-based care because nurses are the ones evaluating education systems, guidelines of care and ethics, licensure, and competency of its members. In order to ensure the advancement of the nursing profession, as well as keeping public interest a nursing priority, self-regulation must not fall victim to to the threats of outside forces, including economic and governmental interests. Nurses must do their part and maintain their own accountability and competency to keep self-regulation working as smoothly as possible. To ensure the benefits of self-regulation in the future, nurses must become informed on the importance of self-regulation to themselves and their profession as a whole. Furthermore, Canadian citizens must be notified about how self-regulation in professional nursing is working to keep them safe. Nursing as a profession relies on self-regulation to maintain its competency, quality, and progress. In turn, nursing self-regulation depends on nurses and the public to maintain its