The American Nurses Association has announced its formal recognition of emergency nursing as a specialty practice.
The ANA defines emergency nursing as "the care of individuals across the lifespan with perceived or actual physical or emotional alterations of health that are undiagnosed or require further interventions. Emergency nursing care is episodic, primary, typically short-term and occurs in a variety of settings."
The ANA also approved the Emergency Nurses Association's scope of practice statement and acknowledged the standards of practice for emergency nursing (http://www.ena.org/iqsip/nursingpractice/scopes/Pages/Default.aspx.
