External Standards of Care encompass standards from the ANA, state practice acts, accrediting bodies, specialty guidelines, and federal regulations. Which term describes these standards?

• A. External Standards of Care
• B. Internal Standards of Care
• C. Nursing Practice Act
• D. State Nurse Practice Acts

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that standards for nursing practice come from organizations and laws outside the individual nurse or the workplace. These external sources set expectations that guide safe, ethical, and high-quality care across settings. Examples include the American Nurses Association standards, state practice acts, accrediting bodies, specialty guidelines, and federal regulations. Together, they form a broad framework that nurses must follow, regardless of where they work or who employs them.

Internal standards, by contrast, are created within a specific institution or by the individual nurse, and they may align with external standards but are not the same as them. The Nursing Practice Act and State Nurse Practice Acts describe legal scope of practice in law, but they are just part of the external landscape; they don’t alone capture the full spectrum of professional guidelines and accrediting rules that govern practice nationwide or across specialties.

So, the term that best describes standards from ANA, state practice acts, accrediting bodies, specialty guidelines, and federal regulations is external standards of care.