NURSING STANDARDS

Saudi Commission for Health Specialities Kingdome of Saudi Arabia

1.1. ‘Standards of practice’ describes how registered nurses/midwives should act to

provide holistic patient care.
1.1.1. These core competencies have been developed to ensure that the public of Saudi
Arabia can be confident in the abilities of the nurses to provide safe and effective
nursing care. Eight domains of practice have been identified.
1. Professionalism and Ethical Practice
2. Patient-Centered Care
3. Evidence-Based Practice and Research
4. Leadership and Management Skills
5. Quality and Safety Management
6. Health Education and Promotion
7. Communication and Information Technology
8. Professional Self-Development
1.1.2. Domain One: Professionalism and Ethical Practice
• Standard 1: The nurse shall accept responsibility and be accountable for the
quality of care delivered within the scope of his or her acquired knowledge and
skills gained.
• Standard 2: The nurse shall apply ethical principles of professional conduct,
which are a compilation of ethical rules designed to guide the nurse in making the
correct decision in clinical practice and difficult patient care situations.
• Standard 3: The nurse shall build and actively maintain professional
relationships with patients, families and the healthcare team.
1.1.3. Domain Two: Patient-Centered Care
• Standard 1: The nurse shall undertake nursing assessment, planning and
provision of a culturally appropriate plan of care.
• Standard 2: The nurse shall provide care that is holistic, individualized and
culturally sensitive.
• Standard 3: The nurse shall establish a therapeutic relationship with patients,
families and communities.
1.1.3.1. Domain Two: Patient-Centered Care Patient-centered care (PCC) is
defined as the process by which patients are proactive in their treatment in
collaboration with healthcare providers (Kwame & Petrucka, 2021). It
promotes collective decision-making and active partnership among
healthcare professionals, patients and family members to enable the design
and management of an effectively modified holistic care plan (Kwame &
Petrucka, 2021). It respects the patient as a partner in offering
compassionate, culturally sensitive, age-and gender safe, appropriate and
coordinated care. This domain encompasses the key principles and
limitations of the nurse’s role in health care provision as well as therapeutic

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 and interpersonal relationships pertaining to patients, families, the
community and society (Yang, 2022).
1.1.3.1.1. Standard 1: The nurse shall undertake nursing assessment,
planning and provision of a culturally appropriate plan of care.
Competencies
• Performs a holistic systematic assessment and uses data and the
best available evidence to develop a care plan that provides
strategies to achieve the expected outcomes.
• Conduct comprehensive physical examinations that are integrated
with the patient’s history and pathophysiology.
• Demonstrates the ability to analyze assessment data to identify
patient’s problems and implements a prioritized plan of care.
• Collaboratively constructs culturally sensitive nursing care plans
until contingencies, options, priorities, goals, actions, outcomes
and time frames are agreed upon with the healthcare team.
• Documents, evaluates and modifies the plan of care accordingly
to facilitate the agreed-upon outcomes.
• Recognizes and assesses the response(s) of patients to nursing
interventions and reports results and responses accurately and
promptly to the healthcare team.
• Assesses vital signs, including pain level, and subsequently
reports and escalates findings to the healthcare team or physician
to ensure safe and appropriate care.
• Demonstrates nursing interventions to relieve pain and suffering
in light of patient values, preferences and expressed needs.
• Applies advanced clinical technologies in nursing care and
interventions. • Performs specialized and advanced nursing
procedures and follows protocols, procedural guidelines and
resources.
• Administers medications and therapies after receiving the
required education and competencies in a safe, timely and effective
manner.
• Supports, enables and promotes independent self-care including
activities of daily living.
• Responds promptly to sudden changes in patients’ conditions and
escalates appropriately.
• Participates in the teaching of patients, families and communities.
Specific to Nurse Technicians • Assists the nurse specialist in
reviewing the plan of care in response to the evaluation of patient
outcomes. • Priorities delegated workload and effectively manages
time. • Assist in performing specialized and advanced nursing
procedure as required.
1.1.3.1.2. Standard 2: The nurse shall provide care that is holistic,
individualized and culturally sensitive. Competencies

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 • Provides a collaborative nursing care that is sensitive to an
individual’s psychological, cultural and spiritual values and needs
involving multidisciplinary teams.
• Accepts the patient’s values, views and preferences regarding
their own health needs and concerns.
• Displays compassion and respect during patient care.
• Support patients during palliative and end-of-life care in
coordination with the healthcare team.
• Demonstrates the ability to promote patient care through active
participation in self-care and healthy practices.
• Respects individuals’ religious and spiritual beliefs/practices and
determines if nursing care need to be altered to meet patients’
needs and preferences.
• Evaluates how cognitive and psychosocial development can
affect a patient’s response to illness. Advocate and defends patients
by seeing healthcare situations from patients’ point of view.
1.1.3.1.3. Standard 3: The nurse shall establish a therapeutic relationship
with patients, families and communities. Competencies
• Engages in a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship based on
effective communication that incorporates caring behaviors.
• Establishes therapeutic relationships with patients and
communicates using cultural competence and sensitivity.
• Initiates, develops and terminates therapeutic relationships with
patients/groups through the use of appropriate communication and
interpersonal skills.
• Respects the choices of patients, their right to self-determination
and their right to informed decision-making.
• Develops professional competence through a variety of
professional activities, such as attending effective and therapeutic
communication skills courses.
1.1.4. Domain Three: Evidence-Based Practice and Research
• Standard 1: The nurse shall integrate evidence and practices consistent with
evidence-based guidelines and research findings.
• Standard 2: The nurse shall use research, evaluation, service improvement, and
audit findings to enhance the quality of care and protect the rights of participating
individuals.
1.1.5. Domain Four (a): Leadership and Management Skills
• Standard 1: The nurse specialist shall demonstrate leadership qualities and
management competencies to conduct activities of nursing care in a professional
manner that facilitates safe patient outcomes.
Domain Four (b): Coordination and Task Prioritization
• Standard 1: The nurse technician shall demonstrate care coordination and task
prioritization abilities throughout nursing care management tasks in a professional
manner that supports continuity of care and safe patient care.
1.1.6. Domain Five: Quality and Safety Management
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 • Standard 1: The nurse shall maintain high quality and safe nursing care
standards and evaluate the quality and effectiveness of care provided.
• Standard 2: The nurse shall maintain safe practices while providing nursing care
for oneself, patients and the healthcare team.
• Standard 3: The nurse shall use the principles of quality improvement and
safety, as defined by national and international patient safety authorities, and
incorporate them into nursing practice.
1.1.7. Domain Six: Health Education and Promotion
• Standard 1: The nurse shall provide health education and encourage patients to
be active participants in their health care.
• Standard 2: The nurse shall implement evidence-based health promotion and
preventive strategies to improve patient outcomes.
• Standard 3: The nurse shall integrate priority-based health information to
improve health literacy and promote self-management.
1.1.8. Domain Seven: Communication and Information Technology
• Standard 1: The nurse shall recognize the importance of effective and efficient
communication with patients and other healthcare providers in all verbal,
nonverbal and written forms of communication.
• Standard 2: The nurse shall demonstrate proficiency in the use of information
technology, data systems and tools that support and enhance the quality and
healthcare delivery.
1.1.9. Domain Eight: Continuing Professional Self-Development
• Standard 1: The nurse shall assume responsibility for own professional
development and demonstrate ability to seek knowledge to ensure continued
competence and performance improvement level.
• Standard 2: The nurse shall possess the ability to evaluate and support
developments in nursing practices and the profession.

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Dickson Daniel raj J
DON