Emergency Room RN Obligations Paper
One named specialty, which makes the paper checkable. The regulatory, certification and accreditation agencies that define your scope are three different kinds of body and a strong paper does not merge them.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 22, 2026
Three kinds of body define your scope, and they differ
The brief names regulatory, certification and accreditation agencies as though they were one category, and the paper improves immediately if you separate them. Regulation is the state board of nursing, which grants licence and defines in law what you may do; it is the only one of the three that can stop you practising. Certification is a professional body attesting to specialty competence through examination, which employers and sometimes payers require but which is not itself a licence. Accreditation applies to the programme that educated you and to the organisation you work in, and it operates on institutions rather than on individuals. Say which body does which for your own specialty and state, because a paper that treats them as interchangeable has missed the structure that governs the whole role. There is also a fourth constraint the brief does not name and a good paper does: your employer, whose policies can be narrower than your licence permits.
The three organisations should be chosen deliberately rather than picked for size. A defensible set covers different functions: a specialty organisation for the emergency setting, a broad professional body that sets standards and a code of ethics, and one focused on policy or advocacy. For each, say what it actually does for the role, since a description of an organisation's mission statement is worth little. Membership benefits are the weakest thing you can write about; standards development, position statements, certification pathways, continuing education, and legislative testimony on scope expansion are what matter. Then answer the influence question with real mechanisms: serving on a hospital committee, participating in shared governance, contributing to a specialty guideline, commenting on a proposed regulation, or presenting data that changes a protocol. Each of those has a route you could describe, and describing one route in detail is worth more than listing all five.
Likely learning objectives
- Distinguish regulation, certification and accreditation by what each controls.
- Locate the specific bodies governing one named specialty.
- Select professional organisations by function rather than by prominence.
- Describe influence through named mechanisms rather than aspiration.
Assignment instructions
Read the full question
Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
Advanced registered nursing graduates are entering the profession at dynamic time when roles and scope of practice are shifting based on developments in legislation and policy in response to the evolving needs of the health care system. Professional nursing organizations play an important role in making sure the perspectives of advanced registered nurses are heard, and in supporting nurse specialties in their efforts to expand their scope of practice and their full participation throughout the health care system. Emergency Room RN Obligations Paper. For this assignment, you will conduct research on the current scope of practice for your specialty and efforts that are being made to expand that scope and the role of the advanced nurse in positively influencing the health care system.(Emergency Room R.N.) Write a 1,250-1,500-word paper that includes the following: A discussion of the scope of your future role as an advanced registered nurse, including any regulatory, certification, or accreditation agencies that define that scope. A discussion of three professional nursing organizations that you think are most influential in advancing the scope and influence of advanced nursing. Of these organizations, evaluate the one that you would most like to join. How do its goals and mission fit in with your worldview and philosophy of care? How might membership in this organization improve your practice? A discussion of a controversial or evolving issue that is most likely to affect your scope of practice or role in the next few years. How do you think this issue could influence the profession and other stakeholders, and why does it matters to the advanced registered nurse? You are required to cite five to 10 sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria and nursing content. Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required. Emergency Room RN Obligations Paper. This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion. (attached)
Turn the brief into deliverables
- 01A description of the scope of practice for the named specialty.
- 02The regulatory body, separated from certifying and accrediting bodies.
- 03Current efforts to expand that scope.
- 04Three professional organisations, each with what it does for the role.
- 05Mechanisms by which the advanced nurse influences the system.
- 061,250 to 1,500 words with scholarly sources.
Scope and who sets it, then three organisations, then influence
The scope of the role
Set out what the specialty may do and where the boundaries sit.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A boundary stated as a legal or certification limit.
Who defines it
Separate the state board, the certifying body and the accrediting bodies.
What the assessor is likely looking for
The board of nursing identified as the only body that licenses.
Efforts to expand the scope
Describe current legislative or professional efforts and their arguments.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A named effort with its status rather than a general trend.
Three organisations, three functions
Cover a specialty body, a standards body and a policy body, and what each does.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A function such as standards development rather than a benefit list.
How an advanced nurse influences the system
Give committee, governance, guideline and regulatory mechanisms.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A mechanism with a route, such as commenting on a proposed rule.
Where scope, certification and accreditation are published
Recommended databases
- State board of nursing
- NCSBN
- ANA
- PubMed Central
Search sequence
- 1.Read your own state board's practice act before describing scope.
- 2.Identify the certifying body for your specialty and its eligibility requirements.
- 3.Check which organisations have filed testimony on scope expansion in your state.
- 4.Find a peer-reviewed source on the effects of scope-of-practice change.
Reference shortlist
These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.
APRN
National Council of State Boards of Nursing · 2024
The regulatory model, for what licensure and state regulation actually control.
Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice
American Nurses Association · 2021
Scope and standards of practice, for the professional body's role in defining it.
State Practice Environment
American Association of Nurse Practitioners · 2024
State practice environments, for the scope expansion efforts and where they stand.
Our Certifications
American Nurses Credentialing Center, American Nurses Association · 2026
Certification, for the distinction between attesting competence and granting a licence.
Nurse Practitioner Scope-of-Practice Laws and Opioid Prescribing
The Milbank Quarterly · 2021
Scope-of-practice law and prescribing, for evidence in the expansion argument.
Before you submit this paper
Common mistakes
- Treating regulation, certification and accreditation as one thing.
- Describing organisations by their mission statements and membership benefits.
- Choosing three organisations that do the same job.
- Discussing scope generically rather than for the named specialty and state.
- Answering the influence question with a statement about being a patient advocate.
Submission checklist
- Are the three kinds of agency distinguished by what each controls?
- Is the scope discussed for your specialty and your state?
- Do the three organisations serve different functions?
- Does each organisation entry say what it does for the role?
- Are your influence mechanisms things a person could actually do?
Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read Brinevia's academic-integrity policy.
Written by
Maren Caldwell
MSN, RN, CNE
Medical-surgical nursing, pharmacology and NCLEX preparation
Maren is a registered nurse with over 15 years of clinical and educational experience in medical-surgical nursing. She writes on NCLEX preparation, patient care fundamentals, pharmacology and evidence-based practice.
Reviewed by
Dr. Tessa Redmond
DNP, RN, CNE
Evidence-based practice and clinical education
Tessa is a doctorally-prepared nurse educator. She reviews Brinevia content for clinical accuracy and alignment with current evidence-based guidelines.